Dearly Beloved
by SoRikuRox
Summary: Sora's life was perfect. Perfectly normal for a sophomore student at least. And yet one day his best friend changed all with a single gesture. (Sora's Pov) [SoraXRiku]
1. Chapter 1: Unbound

**Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **"Let who wants to be happy be, for there is no certainty in tomorrow."

* * *

**Chapter 1: Unbound**

_Saturday_

"Hurry up, Sora, we're already late!"

"It's not my fault, Selphie! I'm not the one that had to spent two hours washing her hair..."

"Washing the hair before going to a beach party? Girls are really strange..."

"You're one to talk, Roxas! How much time do you spend every morning to get your hair to look like that?"

"Hey, it's not the same! I'm not sure why precisely but... it's not the same..."

"Aw, you can leave my brother out of this, Kai. Everybody knows that when there's a girl involved, everybody will be late."

"Perfectly right, Sora, and between Kairi and Selphie it's already a miracle that we could get here before the end of the party."

"Eh, that's true, Riku. Maybe next time we should leave them home and go on our own, what do you think, Tidus?"

"You mean only us boys or you mean only you and Riku?"

"Aw, shut it!"

There was nothing official but anybody in the campus knew that the first Saturday after the beginning of the school every student would have reached the beach and joined in the biggest party of the year: the Back To School Party. Sora and his friends were waiting for it the whole summer; generally freshmen had to be back before midnight but last year the upperclassmen had voted for the occupation of the dormitory, with the captivity of Mr. Luxord, the doorkeeper, and the consequent inclusion of Sora and his friends at the late party.

They arrived at the beach late in the afternoon. Riku, Kairi, Tidus and Selphie: Sora was feeling euphoric, 'cause his best friends were all there and ready to party. Well, all right, Kairi didn't drink, Riku didn't dance and Selphie and Tidus would probably end up spending most of the time all by themselves but still... they were all there together, and that was what mattered. His twin brother Roxas had come too; lately he was spending more and more time with them. Sora suspected that his friends had ditched him at the beginning of the summer but Roxas refused to talk about it. That's why Sora wasn't surprised that, when he saw Hayner and Pence at the beach, Roxas turned his head to the other side, pretending not to have seen them.

The sunset projected a golden gleam on the water. The seniors had installed a stereo system on the sporadic palms of the beach and some 60s rock songs were diffusing amongst the crowd of adolescents. Most of the students were in the water, hot enough to swim even if the summer was already over. On the main spot 2 students were fumbling with a barbecue.

"It should be okay, now. I'll light the fire." said the redhead.

"Forget it, pyro! Do you remember what happened last time we let you touch the barbecue?"

"Relax, Larx. Yours eyebrows have nearly completely regrown."

"Come closer to the lighter and I'll make sure you won't ever do it again!"

"Violence is never the answer, Larxene." A blue-haired boy that was reading a book beside them spoke with almost unnatural tranquility.

"Why don't you give us a hand, instead of saying idiotic things, Zexy?"

"Here's the meat for the barbecue, guys." said another blue-haired boy that was arriving with a bag. Sora started to think that blue hair was the new fashion.

He knew all of them. Well, all of the school knew those four; theirs were probably the most pronounced names in the campus: at least once a week you would hear something along the lines of: "Axel was called to meet headmaster Xemnas for arson!" or "Larxene was just at the headmaster office for beating up boys!" And with those two it wasn't even the worst, when the one they talked about was Saïx you knew it was something really bad (last time it was the flooding of the cafeteria for some unknown reason and by dark and mysterious means). Zexion was the quietest of the four, and probably the slyest as well: it was quite rare to hear his name, but Riku was sure that this was only due to him being very able to put the blame on someone else, like the time that Tidus was found by the headmaster with a bag of fireworks on him just after the explosion of a barbecue. Axel was probably involved too; conflagrations were his trademark.

"Hey-hey, welcome to the party kiddo!" shouted Axel waving a hand in Sora's direction. Sora didn't really remember when the redhead had started to be so friendly with him but it was probably during that first week of school; he had wondered why, but then again he didn't care too much: Sora was that kind of guy who makes friends with everyone.

"Stop calling me "kiddo"! You're only a couple of years older than me!"

"As you prefer, kiddo. Do you and your friends want to eat with us? From this place we will have a clear view of Demyx, his concert will start in 10 minutes." Axel was talking to Sora but his eyes were flashing amongst their group. Sora had the impression that his look lingered a little longer on Roxas, though.

"Oh, don't count too much on that, my brother is always late, it won't start before 8." replied Tidus causing all of the 4 seniors to turn on him.

"You really are Dem's bro? The one who screamed for two days when he found a spider in his room?" Larxene sounded clearly amused by the statement.

"It's called arachnophobia! And he didn't scream for two days! Well, not all the time, at least..." Selphie answered angrily, trying to hide her blushing boyfriend.

"Thanks for the offer but I think we'll pass. Tell my musician schoolmate I said "Hi"." And with this phrase Riku decided that it was time to part ways with the seniors.

"We could have spent at least some time with them!" mumbled Kairi while the 6 boys were reaching for the beach bar.

"Do you really want to spent the evening with "I'm-so-intellectual-Zexion" and "I-don't-care-about-anything-Saïx"? Besides I didn't want to see Selphie kill Larxene. Trust me," added Riku, seeing Kairi's interrogative glance, "sooner or later it would have happened."

"Are you sure that's all? Someone could think that you just didn't want Axel to stay too long with your oh-so-precious Sora..." Selphie teased.

"Yeah, when can we expect the two of you to make it official?" Kairi apparently found it amusing to add some idiocies.

"Very soon! This way redheads won't be able to steal my boy toy any longer." replied Riku, relaxed enough to look serious.

"Shut up, idiot!" screamed Sora. Their friends always joked about their close friendship; it was true that they were rarely without the other, but when someone pointed it out, while Riku usually didn't care about it, Sora could never hide a blush sprouting on his cheeks.

"That stupid brother of mine!" Tidus interrupted abruptly "He always has to tell everyone embarrassing things about me!" That boy was hilarious when he was angry: he just couldn't be taken seriously.

"Hey, bro! Let's go drink something, I offer the first shot!" said Roxas, completely ignoring Tidus' rant.

"Yeah, good idea, you're in, Riku?" added Sora, more determined than ever to diverge from the "Sora-Riku-hypothetical lovers" subject.

"Hey! I'm complaining about my brother! Don't just ignore me!"

"Just don't over-do it, boys."

"C'mon, Kai! It's the Back to School Party! If you don't over-do it here, when do you do it?"

Sora didn't know yet that evening his life would change dramatically.

* * *

**End Notes: **This should be a prelude more than a true chapter, my intention was to present the main characters (even if there are some more that will be introduced in later chapters) and to establish the setting for the story. Hope you've liked it, if that's the case please let a little review to let me know if I should keep on working on this story. Thank you in advance.


	2. Chapter 2: Midnight Roar

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **Just to what point can you trust your friends?

* * *

**Chapter 2: Midnight Roar**

_Saturday_

"Shit! What was wrong with him? What was he thinking?"

Sora was running in the night, desperately trying not to think about what had just happened. It was no use. The image was fixed inside his head with no intention of leaving.

In the distance, the huge building that included the school dormitory. The silence of the great meadow surrounding it forced him to focus even more on the thoughts that kept assaulting him.

"Why? Why did he do it? We're supposed to be best friends, after all..."

Sora entered the dormitory; the doorkeeper wasn't there, probably to avoid a repeat of last year. Not that he could have said anything if he was there: except for Riku who was a year older, Sora and his friends were in their sophomore year and, by the rules of the school, that meant no more curfews. Still, he was relieved that did not have to stop and explain what was going on; Mr. Luxord had the uncomfortable ability to instantly notice it whenever something was wrong. Sora liked him, he was some kind of father-away-from-home, but right now he just wanted to reach his room as fast as possible.

He traversed the empty hall, reached the stairs and entered his room on the second floor. No trace of his roommate of course, Roxas was still at the beach party... well, at least he had been there when Sora ran away. What a stupid move that was, now that he thought about it, but at that moment it had seemed like the only way out. Sora let himself fall down on his bed; the moment he touched it he felt completely empty and, while he didn't know whether it was a nice or an unpleasant sensation, he was relieved that his mind could finally blank out.

He automatically started to look around him, not really seeing anything: not the closed door, not the wardrobe decorated with those black and white compositions his brother liked so much and not even Roxas' bed, in the exact opposite corner of the room. But at the moment his gaze fell on the closed window in front of him, Sora winced: a couple of turquoise eyes were looking at him from amidst an avalanche of pictures on the wall.

Those eyes were part of a particular picture that he remembered very well, it had been taken only ten days ago: it was centered around Sora himself because it was his (and therefore also his brother's) birthday party, their sixteenth birthday. Their sweet sixteen. And sweet it had been. Hugging him, on his left, there was Kairi. Behind them Tidus and Selphie were making weird faces at them. Lying on the ground, smiling, there was his brother Roxas. And on his right, with that serious look that was always on his face, there was the owner of the eyes that were now looking at him from the wall.

_'Riku...'_

A twister of thoughts was starting to spin again in his mind, but a door that slammed violently interrupted it.

"Sora! You, idiot! What's your problem?". The voice sounded angry, but Sora knew that Roxas was more concerned than pissed off.

Sora did not move. Instead, he kept on staring at the picture he was looking at before Roxas entered in the room "I wanted to go away from there. Alone. Is that a problem?". The tone of his voice was completely flat. Apathetic even.

"You didn't go away, you ran away! While half of the school was looking at you!"

"Laughing at me to be more precise..."

"So you decided on going here to look at the ceiling? Yeah, I can totally see how that is going to cheer you up."

"No, don't worry. I'm looking at the wall, right now..."

"Sora! What happened is not a big deal!"

That was the last straw. Sora jumped out of the bed, suddenly filled with red hot anger: at his brother, at Riku, at the world.

"Not a big deal? NOT A BIG DEAL? YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED! IN FRONT OF EVERYONE, HOW SHOULD I FEEL, YOU DOOFUS?"

It took some seconds for Sora to realize that he was screaming; he was now standing in front of Roxas, hot tears starting to flow on his cheeks. His brother apparently was scared by that reaction, at least judging by the fact that he had frozen and was not saying anything.

"Sora..."

When Sora spoke again he did so in a voice that was broken and empty, his eyes fixed on the floor. "Leave me alone Roxas. Please."

Roxas didn't answer. He didn't move either, though, so Sora spoke again.

"I'm ok, really. I just need some time to calm down."

Sora wasn't looking at his brother. He didn't see his reaction, nor did he see him exiting the room. He simply went back to sit on the bed when he heard the door closing.

_'Why?'_

That was the last thing he remembered thinking before falling into a deep but troubled sleep.

* * *

**End Notes: **Ok, while already established (actually more like dropped here and there), it's not necessarily clear to everyone, so I'll resume it here: Sora, Roxas, Kairi, Tidus and Selphie → Sophomore year. Riku, Demix → Junior year. Axel, Larxene, Zexion and Saïx → Senior year. P.S. You know what could be really appreciated? One thousand bucks! But if you can't, a review will just be fine :)


	3. Chapter 3: Chaos Ripper

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **Sooner or later you'll always reach the moment when you'll have to confront with your friends.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Chaos Ripper**

_Sunday_

Sora woke up late that morning. He looked at the clock on his left: 10:30 already; oh, well, it was Sunday after all. Apparently he had gone to sleep fully clothed, but he couldn't remember why. Not that he pondered it for long. It looked like his brother hadn't sleep in their room...

_'Oh!'_

And suddenly it all came back to him: he and his friends going to the Back to School Party, spending some time at the beach bar, coming back to Axel and his friends (more precisely when they started to grow hungry enough to endure the seniors in order to score some sausages) and then Demyx's concert where Riku...

Sora shook his head and walked out of the room without even bothering to wash or change his clothes. The main hall was filled with students; Sora thought that, judging from the faces of the majority of them, they must have come straight from the party.

"Hey, Sora!"

A hand was waving from a round table close to the windows. Sora immediately recognized it as Kairi's and he started walking in that direction. He had the impression, though, that some tables had become silent the moment he was passing them.

_'It's only your impression! Calm down! Nobody is looking at you!'_

Sora was walking quickly, trying to reach as fast as possible the table where Roxas, Kairi and Riku were sitting. When he reached it, he mumbled a general "hello" and sat down between his brother and his best friend, facing Kairi.

After some moments of awkward silence, the redhead girl hesitantly spoke. "Sora, we were worried about you. Roxas told us that you... uhm... didn't want to be disturbed so we left you alone. Are you... okay, now?"

On the table were a coffeepot and some muffins. Sora mumbled a "yeah" that didn't succeed in persuading anyone and grabbed whatever he could reach, hoping that by seeing him with his mouth full, his friends would stop talking to him. Vain hope.

"Tidus is still sleeping. At Selphie's. You know those two..." muttered Roxas, desperately trying to distract Sora from his thoughts.

"Yes, they are so cute together. It's incredible to think that it took them so much time to acknowledge each other's sentiments, how long has it been since they got together? Nearly 2 months, I think." answered Kairi trying to support Roxas' pathetic attempt.

Sora wasn't really listening to them, his attention constantly fixed on the breakfast. Or at least he pretended it to be, trying in reality to catch a glimpse of Riku out of the corner of his eye. His friend was simply staring at him, his usual, indecipherable, blank expression: the silver-haired boy had always been an enigma, nobody could ever understand what he was thinking. Well, save for Kairi. Sometimes. One of those "girls are more sensitive than boys" things...

Up to the point when Sora heard distinctly Kairi whispering, probably at Riku, something along the lines of "Say something to him, idiot!"

"It's a shame you ran away, it was a really great evening." exclaimed an annoyed Riku; really, that guy was as subtle as a brick.

Sora slowly turned his head, finally looking directly at his friend, trembling but firm. "Y-you know very well why I ran away, stop... stop pretending it's all right!"

"I thought you just said you were okay with that." Sora found incredible how Riku could never lose his cool; his expressionless eyes were constantly fixed on Sora's.

"You... you..." He wanted to tell it, but his nerve was failing him.

"Come on! I mean, what's the matter with you?" Riku interrupted, eyes narrowing. And that was all the motivation Sora needed.

"YOU KISSED ME! HOW COULD THIS BE OK?" he exclaimed, discovering at the same moment that he was shouting again and starting to intensely blush a second later, more precisely when he realized he was in the middle of groups of students.

Riku didn't answer so Kairi spoke up in his stead. "Seriously, Sora, it was only a joke! We were at Demix's concert, we were having fun! Tidus started to tease you two about... well, you two being so close, nothing new. And then... you know. Just a joke."

Sora remembered very well: he was about to start to yell at Tidus but it didn't get the chance to do so because... because Riku without saying anything grabbed Sora by the shoulders and planted a kiss on his lips. Though it lasted for only a second, Sora felt himself completely stunned. When Riku removed his lips from his, he was completely overwhelmed by a mix of surprise, anger and astonishment; the only reaction he had was to gaze at the older boy for what he seemed an eternity. But while in reality he stared at him for mere seconds at most, when he snapped out of his trance he realized that, being in the middle of a crowd, not only their friends but also half a hundred other students were looking at them, grins on their faces. For Sora that was simply too much to bear; he passed the people that were on his way and, once reached the dormitory, he started to wonder about what happened; at least until the arrival of a worried roommate-brother.

"Sora? Hey bro! Snap out of it!"

The voice of Roxas interrupted his flow of thoughts, bringing him back to the reality, even if still in a state of semi-consciousness.

"Sorry, guys, but I've gotta go. I'll spent lunchtime with my parents." said Kairi standing up while looking slightly worried at an absent-minded Sora "I'll call you later, Sora!".

The moment Kairi exited the room the atmosphere became frozen. Riku was the one who broke that unnatural silence.

"If you don't have anything else to tell me, I think I'll go too."

"That's all? You could at least apologize to him!" exclaimed Roxas evidently irritated.

"Curious. I could expect the same from him." Sora looked at Riku confused.

"Uh? Why should he apologize to you?"

"Because he could have done whatever he wanted, but by staring at me and running away the way he did, everybody will now think that we seriously are in love with each other! Which, frankly, I don't care about while Sora apparently does!"

Sora looked worriedly at Roxas, searching for some reassurance, but Roxas didn't say anything.

"A word of advice, Sora. Think what you want of me but try not to think too much of that kiss. That's the best you can do, trust me!"

Sora had the impression that Riku was glossing over something, but he was too shaken too fully acknowledge it, so he merely looked at his friend disappearing through the exit door.

"You want to talk, bro?" asked Roxas, now evidently more concerned than before.

"Y-yeah, I-I mean no, not really. I... Listen, I-I still need some time to think, we'll meet at dinner, just the two of us, okay?"

"Sure Sora, whatever you prefer. If you change your mind I'll be in our room." And with those words, Roxas also left the table, leaving Sora completely alone, if not for some muffins that were still littered all across the table.

* * *

**End Notes: **So what happened that night has been revealed (yeah, I know someone had probably expected much considering that this is an M-rated fiction but... let's just say the M is for later chapters...). Now Sora will have to deal with the aftermath of that evening, starting in the next chapter. Anyway, I will post a new chapter every week, let me know your opinion and thanks for reading. Next: Seifer.


	4. Chapter 4: Knockout Punch

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes: **Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **Never cease to amaze at the pettiness of people.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Knockout Punch**

_Sunday_

The day was sunny, so Sora decided that, after all, he could go out and relax a little on the great lawn of the dormitory, so he stood up and started to walk towards the exit. On the way there, though, he was surprised by a whistle; he turned around to see from where it came but all he saw was a bunch of students giggling. He tried to reach the exit as fast as possible but he crossed paths with Larxene who was entering the main room bearing a huge grin on her face.

"Hey-hey-hey! Look who we have here! Sora! Where have you left your boyfriend? You and... what's his name?... Riku put up quite the show yesterday!"

Sora turned instantly pale. "W-what are you talking about?"  
"Oh, come on! Don't play dumb with me, you know what I'm talking about!"  
"T-that doesn't concern you! Shut up or I... I..."

Larxene's grin instantly disappeared from her face. "Or you what? Listen, I won't punch you only because I don't hit girls but don't ever use that tone with me or else... Now scram, I've got more important things to do!"

Sora didn't have the time to react because Larxene was already over the threshold and inside the room; he just looked back, noticing that the people at the tables now weren't doing any efforts to hide their giggles. He decided to get out of the dormitory as fast as possible.

Luxord was at the reception, wearing his usual overall and reading a book. Sora said "hi" without stopping and trying to hide his real mood. The doorkeeper raised his eyes from his book and murmured a "hello", but didn't say anything else; he didn't resume to read neither, though. In his first year at the school Sora had learned a thing: whatever happened at the school, before or later would arrive at the ears of the doorkeeper; what happened with Riku would have arrived as well, the only question was: did he already know about it? Anyway, at the moment Sora didn't want to talk about anything, so he was relieved that Luxord didn't stop him and could feel surprised at the warmth of the sun when he finally reached the great meadow. It was nearly midday but there were still students that were coming back from the beach; not wanting to see anyone, Sora found a distant spot and let himself fall on the grass.

He didn't know how much time he spent there thinking of nothing, he just realized at a certain point that he was starving, so, after checking that there was nobody in sight, he started walking towards the building that hosted the gym, the swimming pool and, of course, the cafeteria.

Not surprisingly, it was nearly empty; Sora looked at the clock on the wall of the cafeteria: 3:55, no wonder he was hungry.

"There's still something to eat, ma'am?" An old woman turned to look at the brunet.

"For lunch? You're a little late, boy. We have some sandwiches, though."

"That's great, thank you. I'll take two salmon cream cheese bagels, then."

"You can seat wherever you want, I'll bring them to you when they're ready."

Sora moved to the table under the great window, the most distant from the few people that were present and resumed his thoughts.

_'Okay, now I'm sure that a lot of people will make fun of me for that stupid kiss, what can I do about it? I cannot hide forever, today is Sunday but tomorrow we'll have lessons and I'll be amongst all of the students... Maybe Riku was right, maybe I shouldn't care about it but how...'_

"Boy? Food is ready!"

Sora realized the woman of the cafeteria was standing towards him, two sandwiches in her hands.

"Uh... sorry, I was kinda... distracted... thank you, how much it is?"

After have been paid, the woman parted, leaving Sora alone with his food and his thoughts. Not for long.

"Sora, long time no see!"

Sora raised his eyes from the food: the 3 people that were on the only other occupied table in the room were now in front of him, nearly surrounding him.

"Uhm, yeah, hi Seifer!"

"You could say hello when you see me, you know?"

"Uh? Oh, yes, I didn't recognize you before, sorry." It was the truth; he was the last person Sora would have thought he would have met that day, after all the only thing Sora remembered about Seifer from when they were little was that that cocky boy liked to tease him. Well, at least until Riku broke his nose. The other two with him were his friends, or more appropriately his gang from what Sora had heard: a tall, muscular boy named Rai and a lean, light steel blue haired girl named Fuu.

"Please, let continue our talk out of here, it is such a lovely day, isn't it?"

Sora realized that it wasn't really a question, so he took what was left of his lunch and exited the cafeteria, with Seifer ahead of him and his two friends behind. Sora swallowed: he was starting to get an idea on what Seifer could want from him.

"Listen" continued Seifer not stopping to walk and not looking at Sora "I want you to know I harbor no ill will against you. Granted, there have never been too much talking between us, but still you've never caused me any major trouble. And yet..."

The older boy stopped walking and turned to look at him.

"You have to understand" Seifer articulated the words carefully "that I cannot accept a fag in my school!"

Sora felt the world crumble under his feet. He had thought about that all day, but to hear someone call him "a fag" was a totally different thing. He forgot how to breath for an instant, then he forced himself to swallow some air and tried to get out of that situation.

"I-It's all a misunderstanding! Riku's kis... what happened yesterday was only... only a joke of Riku, nothing more!"

"Oh! Then you absolutely lack sense of humor, at least judging by the reaction you had."

"T-this is none of your business! I don't..."

"I'll tell you how I see it." the tone of Seifer's voice was at the same time smooth and nervous. "Once, there were 2 boys who were desperately in love with each other. Those two boys realized the disturbing nature of their relationship so they pretended to be just friends, but one day they went to a party and, completely drunk, they make-out in front of everyone and they exposed their shameful secret! How do you like this?"

Sora wanted to scream, to explain that it wasn't like that at all, but he just couldn't formulate a sentence. Not even a thought, actually.  
"So now we'll have to teach you not to make fun of us!"

"What do you..."

But Sora couldn't end his phrase. He suddenly felt an intense pain on his eye and a second later he found himself lying on the ground; Seifer surely knew how to pack a punch. He tried to go back on his legs but another hit even stronger than the first one, Rai's courtesy probably, reached him from his left.

"You deserve this, y'know?"

"Shut up, Rai! And you, get up, Sora! I want you to look at me!" said Seifer with a clear disdain in his tone.

Sora tried to stand up but that second punch had been too painful to let him do that. Still, he raised his look at him: he wouldn't beg for mercy.

Seifer raised his fist, ready to hit Sora once more. The brunet closed his eyes preparing to receive the hit, but it never arrived. When Sora opened his eyes Seifer was shouting, his fist blocked by someone behind him; Sora could not see his savior from that position.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing? Let me go this instant!"

A familiar voice as calm as if his owner was at a tea party reached Sora's ears "I'm sorry but I have no intention to let you continue to hit him! Besides, three against one? Kiddo here must be a really dangerous guy..."

_'Axel?! But what is he doing here? And why is he helping me?'_ Sora started thinking.

"Seifer?" asked Fuu to his friend.

"Stand down, guys!" answered Seifer, his fist still blocked in Axel's grip. He then turned his attention to the redhead. "It's none of your business, Axel! Let me go, disappear this instant and I may forget your arrogance!"

"Man, oh man! I'll grant you this, Seifer, you've got a lot of guts, talking to me like that!" and with an apparently effortless movement he pushed the blond boy back.

"You shouldn't have done this, y'know?" shouted a charging Rai, apparently surprising Axel that found himself hit by a punch on the lower lip. But he simply dried his blood with the arm and smiled calmly at the three boys. Sora took advantage of the moment to go back on his legs and move towards Axel. He felt like his heart would come out of his chest from the intense beating but he was ready to fight. Luckily, after some interminable seconds of squaring Axel, Seifer turned to his friends "We're off, guys!". Before going he gave a last glare at the beaten brunet muttering something that Sora was happy he could not hear.

When the two of them were finally alone Sora gave Axel a worried look "Are you hurt?"

"Nah, I could have handled those punks! But, man!" Axel dried his still bleeding lip "I must admit I'm happy that Seifer decided to give up the fight. But what did you do to anger them that way?"

Sora was too shaken to answer the question so Axel simply started to walk towards the dormitory.

"Anyway I think I'm going back to the dormitory. I think you'd better go away from here, should Seifer and his friends come back."

Sora just followed him. After some minutes of awkward silence the brunet finally could ask the question that was troubling him.

"Axel, why?"

"Mmh?"

"Why did you help me with Seifer? We barely know each other, after all. Why bother at all?"

"Why? Well, if you feel like doing something, don't wait! Act! One of life's little rules. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah, I guess." A little pause "Thank you then, Axel!"

None of them said anything until they had traversed the meadow, not even when they passed a crowd of laughing students on the plaza in front of the dormitory. Despite that awkward silence still lingering between them, Sora felt the presence of Axel kinda of... reassuring.

* * *

**End Notes:** Yeah, I like to put some references to the KH universe (not to say entire quotes...) and in this chapter there are a lot. Oh, well, kudos to who can find them all (not really difficult, actually...)


	5. Chapter 5: Master Keeper

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes: **Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes:** Sometimes you just have to look at the problem from another perspective.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Master Keeper**

_Sunday_

"Stop there!"

Sora winced at the calm yet authoritarian voice of the doorkeeper. Axel simply turned his head towards him and muttered a greeting.

"Hey, Luxord! What's up? There are some problems?" asked Sora as innocently as he could, trying to hide his left eye that, after the encounter with Seifer's fist, had turned a vivid shade blue.

"That's what I was going to ask you, Sora. Axel, do you have something to do with his black eye?" Sora noticed that Luxord hadn't even moved his eyes from the book he was reading: there was nothing that you could hide from that man.

"Aw, come on Lux! Why do you have to assume that I have some connection with that?"

"I could give you at least ten reasons to think so. Now be gone, I'll take care of him."

"Yes, sir!" answered Axel ironically, but still obeying to the doorkeeper. "Bye, Sora! See ya tomorrow!"

Mr. Luxord finally raised his eyes from his book. He was perfectly calm and collected, as usual, but Sora was convinced he could read concern in his eyes; not that he would openly admit it, of course. He walked in his back office indicating with a gesture for Sora to follow him.

Mr. Luxord's office was always perfectly ordered. It was a huge chamber with some pouffes on the ground surrounding a little table; in the most far corner of the room there was a desk, always filled with mountains of papers, books and others things that, Sora was sure, had nothing to do with his work as doorkeeper. The numerous shelves of the room were full of objects that looked as curious as useless and on the walls there were lots of pictures of all kind of people, most of them groups of students; it was a thing that Sora had immediately noticed and liked the first time he had come to that office, to the point that he had started to upholster his room in the same way, much to Roxas' dismay. Luxord closed the window and started to heat a pot of water.

"I don't want tea, thanks!" Sora blurted out quickly when he saw that Luxord was taking some water.

"It's not for you." he answered, calmly putting a kettle on the fire "At least not to drink, how do you feel?"

"I'm... I'm fine. The eye doesn't hurt that much." lied the brunet.

"You know what I mean."

Sora sighed. "...I don't know, really. I don't know how to feel, how I should feel. I'm just... angry, I want it all to go back the way it was. I don't want... this!"

Luxord took a deep breath. "It's about Riku, right?"

"You already know?" answered a not at all surprised Sora.

"People love to gossip! And by gossip I mean adding useless details to the facts. Care to tell me what really happened yesterday?"

The young boy didn't want to repeat the story but he took a deep breath and did it anyway. The doorkeeper didn't spoke, nor he interrupted Sora's narration; he just took the kettle from the fire and put a cloth in it. By the time the young boy had finished talking, Luxord had put the cloth on his eye.

"Here! Put a hand on it!"

"Thank you, but it wasn't necessary. Yow! This smell is awful, what is it?"

"A natural extract. I don't think you really want to know what it is extracted from, though... So, there are some students that find amusing tease you about your friendship with Riku."

"More than tease and more like all of the school, apparently." answered a dejected Sora.

"If you look at the world through sunglasses, it's unavoidable to see it dark." Luxord had always loved riddles.

"Uhm... Meaning?"

"It's called pessimism." answered the doorkeeper as calm as usual "Think about it for a moment: is it really true that everyone is laughing at you? From what you've told me, I assume your friends aren't teasing you. And you told me that Axel helped you today. So you're not alone, at least."

"Yeah, but..."

"But you think that was for granted, right? Well, don't think so!"

Sora jumped on his feet. "What are you... I trust my friends and I know they will always be there for me!" He felt insulted that the doorkeeper thought that his friends could turn their backs at him.

"Do not misunderstand me." added Luxord probably guessing Sora's thoughts. "I hope you're right, just don't belittle their support by taking it for granted."

"Of course not, it's just that..." muttered Sora slowly calming down "What kind of friend could be so mean?"

Luxord smiled. A sad smile. "You're too kind-hearthed, Sora. You wouldn't understand. But remember that you're lucky to have someone to back you up. How is it going your eye?"

The mixture on his eye apparently was as disgusting as it was effective, because the intense pain that Sora was feeling just some minutes ago had nearly completely disappeared.

"It feels good, thanks." answered Sora surprised and definitely relieved. It was not sure if that pleasant sensation was because of the improvement of his eye or the words of the doorkeeper, though.

"The bruise will not disappear before a few days, but the pain should be more manageable."

"Luxord..."

"What, Sora?"

"What do you think I should do, now?"

"I don't have the answers for this question. My best suggestion is to talk to Roxas. I'm sure he will help you."

"My brother? I already wanted to do that."

"Then go get to it, if you need me I'll be here as always."

"Well, save for last night..." added the brunet with a little grin.

"You know, I didn't want a repeat of the last year..."

"Thank you, Luxord!" said Sora by running out of the office smiling.

"Whenever you need, Sora."

* * *

**End Notes:** I generally try to keep my characters as close as possible to the originals, but with Luxord I must admit that I've taken some more liberties... Don't know why I gave to him such a relatively large role in the story (you'll see...), I just found it the most suitable. Now, of Org. XIII that are waiting to appear there are still Xemnas, Xigbar (who are both set to appear in chapt. 7), Xaldin, Vexen (chapt. 8), Lexaeus (12) and Marluxia. You'll see... thx for reading :)


	6. Chapter 6: Glimpse of Darkness

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes: **Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes:** When you have reached the bottom of the barrel, you can always start digging.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Glimpse of Darkness**

_Sunday_

Sora was feeling strangely tranquil: surely not happy, but at least relaxed. So even when he heard some suffocated laughs in the main hall he ignored them and simply continued to the second floor. He entered his room, Roxas was working on the desk, homework probably.

"Hi Rox! What's up?"

"Oh, Sora! Just give me a second to finish this math problem." answered a completely absorbed Roxas without even turning around to face his brother. Sora reached his bed and closed his eyes, but just a few seconds later he opened them again at the hearing of his brother's mutterings.

"Volume of the sphere: minus 340 m3! Crud, I hate math! Sorry, bro, how are you doing?" said a dejected Roxas turning on Sora.

"It's okay. I've been better but I think I'm okay now." answered sincerely Sora. "Are you hungry?"

"It's just 6 o'clock... What have you eaten for lunch?"

"Uhm, just some sandwiches..." answered Sora, hoping to avoid more questions; after all it was the aggression of Seifer that had interrupted his snack and he knew that if his twin had known about that he would have become mad.

"Oh, I can see why you're hungry! Let's go then, shall we eat here or go to the cafeteria?"

"Here! Here!" exclaimed the brunet. He was sure of a thing: he did not want to go where he could meet Seifer and the dormitory was a safe place for that: the junior year student didn't have a room there, he lived not far from the college. His friends Rai and Fuu lived there, but he was sure that they wouldn't pick a fight without their "boss". Heck, they could barely think without their "boss". And even less when he was around.

"Ok, ok! No need to get excited. We'll eat here, then."

Roxas stood up and started to walk towards the door; Sora simply walked out of his bed and followed him.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the cafeteria?" asked the blond boy turning on his brother "You know that there isn't too much of a choice here and- OH MY... WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO YOUR EYE?"

Sora instantly backed off covering his eye with his hand. _'Idiot! I'm an idiot! I had totally forgot about the eye! Idiot! Idiot!' _"It's... It's nothing! I've just... I've just tripped over and... and..."

"Don't try to make a fool out of me! That's a black eye, right? Who did it? Why didn't you tell me anything?"

Sora continued to back off as Roxas kept getting closer to him. He was pale and certainly worried to death.

"I... I told you it's nothing! Stop worr..."

"It's all about what happened yesterday, right? There's some idiot who... Riku will listen to me, this time..."

"No!"

Sora replied so abruptly that Roxas froze in his place. They already were in the middle of their room.

"Please!" Sora's voice was hiding a shade of panic, his eyes desperately searching for something on the ground. "Please, don't tell anything! You would just make things worse! I don't want more problems! It's okay, really! I've had some problems, but I'm ok now, just... just please don't ask me anything else about the eye! Not now!"

"You mean -Let someone pummel my brother and pretend nothing happened-? That's what you want?"

"Yes, precisely!" Sora was starting to cooling it. Nevertheless his eyes were getting wet. "Please! Just for now!"

Roxas didn't answer. Sora wasn't looking at him but he could feel his gaze on him. Then the blond boy talked.

"It's ok."

Sora looked at his brother surprised. "Really? You mean..."

"I'm not cool with it!" quickly added Roxas "But if this is your choice I'll respect it. Just don't forget that if you need me I'm here. And I'll always be for you."

Sora felt totally ashamed. He knew that his twin was deciding not to inquire out of respect for him and he knew how much this should cost to him. The sentiment of guiltiness that was swallowing him stopped him from telling Roxas how much he appreciated this, so he simply hugged him without saying anything.

"Don't worry, bro! I'm here!"

"I know, Rox!"

"Ehr... ok, that's enough!" said Roxas, who was not accustomed to exaggerated manifestations of affection, backing away from Sora "Let's go eat, now!". Sora smiled.

The dormitory had a little cafeteria not many people frequented, mainly because of the fact that he offered just a single "menu of the day"; it was mainly visited by the employees and some professors (which wasn't exactly an incentive for most of the students), the sporadic teens that were there were generally the lazy guys that did not wanted to walk to the main cafeteria.

When the two arrived there wasn't a single student in the room, which Sora appreciated. In truth, aside from the employees that had to eat early, Sora was sure there were not a lot of people that ate that early.

None of them said a word about the evening of the party. Sora had some things that he wanted to discuss with Roxas on that subject, but he preferred to avoid the argument out of fear to bring up his black eye again. He had felt really bad during the whole day, but between Luxord's words and Roxas' support he had come to the conclusion that the situation wasn't that bad.

_'Maybe tomorrow everyone will have forget about... that! And if someone would want to pick a fight with me I'll always have my friends to back m...'_

"Hey Sora! Where have you left your boyfriend?"

That voice from behind him abruptly brought the brunet back to the reality. He had hoped for a moment that everyone could forget what happened with Riku. He had hoped that he could return to his normal, perfectly predictable, wonderful life. But those words made him realize how naïve he had been: as Luxord had pointed out, people loves to gossip and Sora knew that he was now a great subject for gossip. He felt broken, as much as he had felt the night before.

"You, idiot! You're always the same!"

Roxas' words hit Sora like a punch even if they weren't directed at him: if his brother was talking that way to the intruder it meant he knew him. And that meant that maybe Sora knew him too... Thinking about it, he was sure to know that voice...

Sora slowly turned his head to see the owner of the few words that had destroyed his little wonderful world. A blond boy was standing behind him with an expression halfway through a grin and a query. "Calm down, Roxas! What's the matter?"

_'What's the matter, he said!' _Just a second ago Sora was thinking that his friends would have always been there for him. However when he saw that it was Tidus, the friend that he knew since they were kids, the one teasing him after all that had happened during that day, he quickly discovered that apparently there was no limit to the sentiment of dejection one could feel. Sora had just a few seconds to think rationally before finding himself standing up in front of his supposed friend. And then he threw a punch in his face, just like Seifer had done it with him only a few hours ago. And then another. And another, and another, and another...

"Ouch! Are you crazy? What are you..." muttered a frightened Tidus that was too busy trying to shield himself against Sora's punches to end the phrase.

"Sora! Stop it! What the fuck are you doing?"

Roxas' words reached his ears without really getting to his brain. He wasn't really thinking, he just kept at beating his friend who, between the surprise attack and the storm of fists that were reaching him, could not react and barely defend himself.

"I said STOP!"

Sora needed some moments to realize that his brother had blocked him, grabbing him by his armpits from behind. Tidus took advantage of that fact and put some distance between him and the berserker brunet.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" Sora shouted furiously, trying to free himself from Roxas' grip.

"I-I'm s-sorry, Sora! I-I didn't mean to... to..." tried to say Tidus.

"SHUT UP! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOU!" "I TOLD YOU TO LET ME GO!"

"GO AWAY, TIDUS! IT'S THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO, RIGHT NOW!" Roxas was screaming to cover Sora's noises. Tidus tried to say something, then he looked at the still out of control Sora and decided to follow Roxas' advice.

"Ok, ok, Tidus is gone! Please, Sora! Calm down, now! Please!"

And Sora calmed down immediately. It wasn't the fact that Tidus had departed, nor the fact that the employees of the cafeteria were approaching to them.

"Roxas! You... you are crying?"

Roxas jumped back letting go of his brother. "Of course, not! Why should I cry?"

Now that Sora was free he turned to look at his brother; he wasn't actually crying. Sora had never seen his brother cry but, for a moment, he had had the impression that he actually was. Was he really that concerned for him?

Roxas leaved some money on their table and, after some apologies to the employees, he escorted his shattered brother to their room.

* * *

**End Notes:** Gosh, Sora really is a crybaby in my stories :) Oh, well, there will be more about Sora/Tidus relationship in the next 2 chapters! I think KH-Tidus is a character that you like or hate, but I usually use the characters depending on how good they fit in the story and not because of my preferences! Thx for reading!


	7. Chapter 7: Follow the Wind

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful.

**Chapter Notes:** The moment you plan something it's always followed by the moment something thwart it.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Follow the Wind**

_Monday_

"Wake up, Sora!"

Sora opened his right eye: 7:00. _'Why does school have to start so early every Monday?' _He closed his eyes; he had to reopen them half an hour later and only because some hands, Sora supposed his brother's, were pulling him out of the bed.

"Sora, you lazy bum! My class will start in only half an hour, we'll have to skip breakfast thanks to you! Geez, I wonder why I picked maths the first two hours of Monday..."

"Uh, sorry Rox. Didn't sleep very well tonight..."

It was the truth, but after what had happened the previous evening it was no big surprise; Roxas had been astonishingly comprehensive with Sora after his outburst but still, the moment he had realized it, the brunet had felt completely ashamed of his behaviour. For the moment, though, Sora was more worried about what would have happened to him when he would have stepped in the school.

After some hasty preparations the two boys were on the way to the buildings hosting the classes. Sora started with two hours of English literature and that idea alone was more than enough to become depressed. Roxas said goodbye to his brother when he had to part ways with him and Sora continued to his destination: he had just 5 minutes to take his books from his locker but it was just the time he needed. Or at least he thought so.

The bag in his hands fell to the ground at the sight of his locker. A big pink heart had been drawn on it, with a writing in the centre that was attracting a crowd of students.

-SORA LOVES RIKU- those were the words that Sora was looking at.

As he heard some laughs, he snapped out of it and reached the locker: he opened it as fast as possible, desperate to hide the embarrassing writing. After some useless efforts of searching for something to cover the writing, Sora simply grabbed his books for literature class and ran towards his destination, slamming his locker and paying especially attention not to look at it.

_'That's awful! If this the beginning of the day I don't want to see the rest of it!'_ For some moments Sora pondered if coming back to the dormitory was an available option, after all that day he only had 2 hours of literature (and he was quite good at that) and...

_'Oh, no!'_

Sora suddenly realized that the last 2 hours of the morning were chemistry, the class that he hated most and, more importantly, that he couldn't miss; the real problem, however, was that that class was also frequented by...

"Sora! Wait a sec!"

This time Sora recognized the voice immediately and felt overwhelmed by guilt and shame. "Tidus! Listen, I wanted to search for you, I..."

"Please, let me talk!" interrupted Tidus. Sora noted that his friend was keeping some distance from him. "I-I'm sorry for yesterday. I tried to call you yesterday after... what happened, but your phone was off." Sora put a hand in his pocket and looked at his phone; it was true, it wasn't effectively lit up, even if he didn't remember when he had turned it off. "I didn't mean to... Listen, I-I just... Uhm..." Tidus looked nervously at his watch "If that's ok for you we... we could talk later about... about this... Right now the headmaster wants to see the two of us!"

Sora immediately forgot what had happened the day before. "WHAT? Or should I say 'Why?'"

"I-I don't know! I was waiting for the beginning of my math class, when professor Xigbar entered and-and the first thing he said was that headmaster Xemnas wanted to see me and 'Roxas' brother', so he sent me to search for you and..."

"Ok, ok! I've understood! If he wants to see us..."

"Yeah! He must have discovered about... yesterday! So what do we do?" There was a distinctive note of panic in Tidus' voice.

"We go see what he wants, or do you prefer to ignore his summoning? Should I remind you of what happened last time someone decided not to go seeing him?"

"No, thanks! It's always better not to remember some things..."

In the end Sora and Tidus decided that either way standing in the middle of a hallway wasn't a solution, so they started to walk in the direction of the headmaster's office. None of them talked during the travel; Sora still felt guilty for his outburst of the day before but he tried to focus on what to say to the headmaster. He figured Tidus was experiencing the same feelings, even if he irritatingly kept walking some steps behind Sora, probably thinking that the brunet might still be mad at him.

The headmaster's office was on the top floor of the same building, so the journey didn't last too long. Once they had reached their destination, Sora took a deep breath and looked at his friend behind him: he was literally shaking, a terrorized expression painted on his face. Sora could imagine why: he had met headmaster Xemnas in his office only 2 times since the beginning of high school but, man, that guy was scary. Disturbing to be more precise; he struck him as some kind of psychopath who would randomly kill you one moment or the other.

Trying to focus on something else than the headmaster, Sora knocked at the door. A deep voice from the inside told them to enter and the brunet obeyed, followed by a shivering Tidus.

"C'mon, man! He's not going to eat us!" Sora said, more to himself than to his friend.

* * *

**End Notes: **Originally this one and the next chapter were supposed to be a very long one but I chose to separate them into 2 to avoid "surcharging". R&R.


	8. Chapter 8: Interdiction

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native English speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful.

**Chapter Notes:** Sometimes all we need to get by is a little help from our friends.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Interdiction**

_Monday_

The headmaster's office was little more than a white empty room. No windows, no pictures, not a single ornament; aside from a wooden desk, some chairs and an old-fashioned book case the room was completely empty. Well, aside from the white-haired man sitting on the desk in his usual black coat, writing something on a piece of paper.

"Good tidings, friends. Please, have a seat." Even though headmaster Xemnas' voice was as deep and empty as the room, Sora knew that that wasn't an invitation but an order.

"G-good morning, sir." muttered a pale Tidus taking the chair that was farthest removed from the desk.

Xemnas stopped writing and looked at the boys. The moment Sora met his eyes he felt a shiver down his spine.

"Today is a momentous day." continued the headmaster "You surely would have questioned yourself about the reason that made me send professor Xigbar to look for you, but I'm reasonably sure that you've already figured it out." Sora and Tidus exchanged a worried glance with each other.

Xemnas rose from his chair and walked towards the card-file without saying a word, took two dossiers and came back to his desk. He slowly opened one, looking at Tidus while doing so.

"As is documented here, last year you were involved in the explosion of a barbecue." continued the white-haired man, eyes on the dossier.

"That's not true!" Sora interrupted "It wasn't possible, it was with us when..."

"You received a disciplinary appeal for that." continued Xemnas ignoring the interruption. "As you surely know, in accordance with the rules of the school, should a student receive three of those he'll be immediately expelled. Now, it would appear that yesterday, as reported by some diligent employees, you two had a fight in the dormitory cafeteria." He paused for a moment. "You must understand that I cannot and will not tolerate such shows of senseless violence, so I will send a second disciplinary appeal to your parents." Tidus lost the little color he had managed to conserve until that moment. As he was apparently unable to speak, Sora did it for him.

"But... but that's not right! I mean, we simply... uhm... had a discussion, yesterday! This... this is just too much for just a..."

"And now, Sora, let's talk about your situation." Xemnas slightly smiled: Sora was surprised to see him express some kind of emotion. "If memory does not fail me, you've already collected two disciplinary appeals: the first for underage drinking and the second for consumption of drugs." said the headmaster drumming his fingers on Sora's dossier. Tidus was looking at his friend, a surprised expression on his face, but Sora ignored him. He swallowed. "That means that should I decide to proceed with this action, you'll be expelled from the school. However..." Xemnas suddenly turned his attention to Tidus. "My dear boy, would you be so kind to bring me some water? You can take it from the water cooler in the corridor." Tidus looked at Sora with worried eyes but obeyed without saying a word and promptly left the room. Then the headmaster talked again.

"Not that this is any of my concern, but you should pick up some better friends than your usual crowd." The brunet winced.

"As I was saying, I could close an eye on your little scrimmage with Tidus. I think it is necessary, however, that you show some efforts in keeping better people around you." Now Sora was furious.

"And I suppose you're already thinking of someone, sir!" Sora realized that he was grinding his teeth, but he didn't really care; he was sure that the headmaster would have obliged him to frequent one of his lackeys, one of those perfect students who perfectly abided by every one of his rules and, Sora suspected, spied on the other students, effectively being Xemnas' eyes in the school. The answer of the headmaster, however, left him astonished.

"As a matter of fact, I am. I was thinking that young Saïx would be an appropriate companion for you."

_'Saïx? How could the most turbulent student in the school be an appropriate companion for me?'_ Sora was so surprised that he couldn't formulate a sentence, so Xemnas continued to talk.

"I've taken the liberty of arranging a meeting between the two of you tomorrow at lunch so you could get to know each other."

Sora was troubled. He was sure that the headmaster had a reason for wanting that meeting, he just couldn't figure out what that motive could be. He was sure of something, however.

"You're right about one thing, sir." Xemnas didn't talk.

"This isn't any of your affairs! And I can choose my friends without your help, thank you sir!" He said that as calm as he could, stressing the last three words in particular.

"Very well. I admire your frankness." Xemnas slightly smiled again "You have to understand, however, that those said friends of yours are in this school because I granted them this honor, and if you want it to stay this way, I must insist you get your mind off these needless distractions."

_'Distractions? What does he means by...'_

Someone knocked at the door and Tidus appeared on the threshold holding a glass of water who promptly gave to the headmaster; Xemnas didn't drink it, though.

"I think the matter has been settled. I will decide in the next days if I should sent a disciplinary letter to your parents, Sora. I'm certain, however, that it will depend more on you than on me. Now, if there aren't any others..."

"Sir! There's... there's something else!" Tidus muttered timidly. Sora looked at his friend surprised.

"He speaks! What's on your tiny mind?" the cruel headmaster asked.

"I-I am the only culprit o-of the fight of yesterday!" As emotionless as he was, Xemnas clearly looked surprised. Not even remotely as much as Sora, though.

"Sora... he never hit me!" continued the blond boy "I-I attacked him but he didn't react!" Sora was still too shocked to say something.

"So you're saying that the employees of the cafeteria that told me that you two were fighting were wrong?"

"W-well, I suppose the impression could have been that of a fight. It...it all happened so quick after all. B-but a-as you can see, Sora is the one with a black eye while I don't even have a scratch..."

"Now, wait a sec-" Sora tried to say but stopped when Tidus glared at him.

Xemnas didn't speak. He was looking at Tidus who looked like he was on the verge of fainting. Then, after probably having figured every implication of Tidus' position, he spoke up again.

"Very well. If that's the case, Sora, you're acquitted from the accusations. The both of you are dismissed."

Sora and Tidus stood up as fast as they could before the headmaster could change his mind.

"However, Sora" started again Xemnas before the boys could reach the door "Do not forget that what I told you before, about your friends and their stay in this school, is still valid. This fact can't be changed! So, even if you are not directly at risk right now, I suggest you consider your choices very carefully."

The two boys exited the office without saying a word.

* * *

**End Notes: **Aaaand this is the second part of what originally was a very long chapter. Next chapter's title will be "Oblivion", so you can easily figure out who will finally come back... P.S. The title of this chapter is somehow an exception to the other "chapters' titles rule" in honor of everyone's favorite zebra-guy :)


	9. Chapter 9: Oblivion

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native English speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **There's a big difference between what you think you're doing, what you effectively do and what other people perceive you're doing.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Oblivion**

_Monday_

Sora looked nervously at the clock on the wall. 10:10, which meant he had only five minutes before the beginning of the chemistry class, a class that Riku frequented too.

The meeting with the headmaster had been surprisingly short, a quarter of an hour tops; Sora and Tidus, however had to recover from such a trying experience, so they had decided to skip class and go have breakfast. It had been a nice occasion for the two boys to talk to each other and to recap recent events. Tidus (who the night of the party had been completely drunk) didn't even remember Sora and Riku's kiss the day before and Sora's consequent escape; he and Selphie had been filled in on the situation by Kairi at dinner. Sora also told him about his encounter with Seifer and his gang and the people who found it so amusing to tease him.

Tidus then told Sora how their friends were worried about him and, at Sora's inquiring, how Riku hadn't showed up all evening. When asked about the reason he had covered for him with Xemnas, Tidus just answered that he couldn't allow Sora's expulsion from the school, at which Sora had felt even more ashamed about attacking him the day before.

They talked about the strange request that the headmaster had made to Sora and the reasons that could be behind that; the brunet discovered from his friend that Saïx, much to his surprise, was Xemnas' son (which was also probably the reason why he and his friends hadn't been expelled yet from the school), but the only conclusion they could come to was that the headmaster had a screw loose.

And finally, Sora discovered that his phone wasn't turned off but broken; it had probably happened during the scuffle with Seifer.

And now he was looking nervously at the clock of the cafeteria. 10:13. He knew he couldn't skip chemistry but he didn't know how to act around Riku.

_'What will I tell him? And what will people say when they'll see us together? And what will he tell me when he discovers that Seifer punched me? And what will he do to him...'_

Sora touched his no longer painful eye and looked at the reflex on the window: it had now turned a vivid shade of purple and larger than he remembered; there was no way that Riku could have missed that.

10:15. Sora took his bag and started walking in the direction of his class. His plan was simple: arrive when everyone was already in, sit down at one of the tables at the back and leave class as fast as possible at the end, hoping his best friend didn't see him.

His plan failed abruptly when prof. Vexen caught him sliding silently in the back of the class.

"Good morning, Sora! Care to try justifying your tardiness?"

"Ehr, I'm sorry, sir. I've just... I was at the headmaster office." It was the truth, after all. Sora just glossed over the fact that the meeting had ended 2 hours before.

Prof. Vexen didn't say anything else, everyone knew that he too was afraid by headmaster Xemnas. Sora noted that his usual place, next to Kairi and Riku in the first line of desks, was free, probably kept that way for him. For an interminable moment he thought at sitting there, but then he caught two girls talking between them, looking at him, pointing at Riku and then talking again. He took the most distant place he could find from his two friends.

Chemistry class lasted 2 hours, but after the first ten minutes Sora thought that he would never reach the end. Besides, being sat in the first line, Sora just couldn't avoid looking at Riku.

_'I wonder if there are people who are taking it out on him too. Maybe not, after all Riku has always had a lot of girls around him. I can see why, I guess, he really is handsome... eh, I wonder how many girls would have liked to be in my place when he... argh, what am I thinking? If only...'_

"Would you like to answer, Sora?"

Suddenly hearing his name, Sora realized that prof. Vexen was talking to him. "Ehr, of course, sir." he quickly looked at the blackboard "We're... we're talking of acid-basic balance..." He responded trying to earn some time.

"We'll never get anywhere with you simply stating the obvious. Since you seem so dense, I'll ask you again: how do you calculate the pH of this solution?"

Sora looked around him. If only he knew what prof. Vexen was talking about... Some students were looking at him, Riku wasn't.

"Negative logarithm of the concentration of the H+ ions present in the solution."

"The question was directed at your schoolmate, Riku. It is right, though. Someone has revised his lessons, I suppose..." Sora breathed a sigh of relief.

"How cute! He protect his boyfriend!" shouted someone from the second line.

A general laugh followed the stupid joke, Sora became a vivid red and tried to disappear into his chair. Riku didn't react, making Sora wonder whether it could be possible that he didn't care at all that half of the class was laughing at them. Luckily prof. Vexen quickly shut everyone up and continued his lesson.

The rest of the hour continued relatively quietly, even if Sora couldn't understand a thing, focused as it was on his best friend; he just couldn't stop looking at him. Just a minute before the short break between the 2 hours he exited the class silently and reached the toilet. He entered one of the cabins waiting for the end of those infernal ten minutes. He heard the door open and some voices; he closed the toilet lid and patiently sat down on it, waiting for the students to leave him alone. He had to wait for some minutes but when the toilet door slammed and he didn't hear voices anymore he felt relieved, thinking he was alone.

"Sora! I know you're in there, open the door!"

Recognizing his best friend's voice, Sora froze. He slowly lifted his feet in a way that they couldn't be seen from under the door; he hoped that by not answering, he could make Riku leave him alone.

Several seconds of silence slipped away, then Sora heard the door of the close cabin squeaking.

"It's true then. You're avoiding me."

Sora started at the sight of his friend, looking at him from the opened top of the toilet cabin.

"R-Riku! What are you doing? Come down before someone sees you!"

And Riku effectively came down. On the wrong side, though: the two boys were now in the same cabin, sharing a space already narrow for a single student.

"W-what a-are y-you..."

"I want to talk to you. Now!"

"I-if someone find us here... Oh, my! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOUR EYE?"

Sora was shocked. The left eye of his friend, that beautiful turquoise eye that was looking at him was surrounded by a black mark; a punch for sure.

"Doesn't matter!" cut it short Riku putting a hand on his eye "I'm more concerned about you, right now! Who did that to you?" said the older boy indicating the black eye of his friend.

_'Oh-my-oh-my-oh-my! Someone hit Riku like Seifer did with me!' _"I-I tripped over and hit the corner of a desk."

Riku looked at Sora, probably pondering whether to believe to the pathetic lie. The younger boy couldn't help but think about how close the two of them were: he could feel Riku's breath moving his hair, but it wasn't an unpleasant sensation. His heart started beating faster.

"Then why didn't you answer when I called you, yesterday?"

"What are you- Oh, right, the phone! See, I just discovered today that it broke..."

"Yesterday, when you hit the desk, I presume?"

The tone of Riku's voice made Sora realize something that hurt him more than his eye.

_'He's mad at me!'_

"N-no! I mean, yes, in a way but... listen Riku, I..."

But Sora couldn't end his phrase because the silver-haired boy jumped on him putting a hand on his mouth. They heard the outside door slamming a second after and someone entered the toilet, a single person judging by the sounds.

_'He's so close...'_

Sora was feeling embarrassed. Riku wasn't looking at him, his eyes fixed in the general direction where the "guest" should have been; his body, however was nearly attached to Sora's.

"R-Riku, c-can you..."

"Shhh!"

_'Why can't he just go back a little? I don't like this situation, I... hey-hey-hey wha...'_

The door slammed once more and Riku let go of his friend, immediately noting that something was wrong with him.

"Sora? You okay?"

"I...am...ok..."

But it was obvious that he wasn't: the brunet was shaking, his look fixed on the ground and his cheeks a bright red. Riku looked at him, took a deep breath and then talked.

"Sora, I've thought a lot about this. About us. And I think it's better that we don't see each other for some time, I have things to think about and maybe you should too." His tone was controlled, but when Sora rose his eyes in disbelief of what he had just heard he noted that his friend's lower lip was trembling.

"What? That's not what I wanted! I just don't want that people see us toget... I mean..."

"You mean what you've just said. And I can't blame you for that. Maybe you should focus more on what you really want." said Riku unrelenting, his cold aquamarine eyes always fixed on Sora. "Wait some seconds before going out." He added before exiting the cabin and leaving his friend alone.

Sora waited in the cabin for a whole minute. He really had some things to figure out, first of all why, even if just for a moment but, still, he couldn't deny it, he had felt excited by that strange situation.

* * *

**End Notes: **It's... peculiar to see how one of the main character of my story (Riku) has appeared so little, part of the reason why this is one of my fav chapters thus far, hope you've liked it.


	10. Chapter 10: Sign of Innocence

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **Always expect the unexpected.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Sign of Innocence**

_Monday_

"Two times late in two hours. I suppose you were summoned again by the headmaster..." Professor Vexen was glaring coldly at Sora as he came back to the classroom.

"Eh? Uh, yeah..." Sora replied, not really understanding the question, absorbed as he was in his own thoughts. Vexen looked at him, shifting to his usual inquisitive look.

"Our work wouldn't go half as smoothly if we didn't gather the needed intelligence beforehand." When prof. Vexen started with that phrase it always meant one thing... "Fortunately, you are in good hands. I will be by your side today to help stimulate that insensate mind of yours." '_Detention'_. "Today after class of course."

Prof. Vexen, however, was a little surprised at Sora's answer, once more a simple "Eh? Uh, yeah..."

The rest of the hour went surprisingly fast. Or at least that was the impression Sora had; twice he tried to stay focused on the weak acids and their idiotic dissociation system, but in the end his eyes would always turn to Riku. Kairi had probably noticed it, considering the worried look that she displayed at the end of the lesson when she came to talk to Sora.

"We'll wait for you at the cafeteria, alright? I just hope that the "chilly academic" doesn't keep you here for too long."

"Yeah, thank you. See you later." muttered the brunet.

Riku didn't even stop to say him goodbye but Sora felt that he couldn't really blame him for that.

_'I must talk to him! Right now! But first I have to avoid detention...'_

"Not that I wouldn't like to knock some sense into you the hard way, but I must admit that I'm quite interested on what's going on with you." asked the professor the moment he was alone with Sora.

Sora had never liked that old man too much, far too inquisitive for his tastes, the kind of guy who wants to know everything that goes on around him.

"Just because I was late twice today?" he asked innocently.

"Please, don't insult my intelligence! I couldn't help but see that you didn't approach your friends, today. So I'll ask you again: what's going on?"

_'Man! There is anyone in this school that doesn't like to meddle in my affairs? As if I didn't already have enough problems...'_

"I'm really sorry, sir." he responded politely, thinking that playing the kind little boy was the best way to get out of there as fast of possible. "I've had some... discussions with Riku and I was a little distracted by that. I meant to talk to him after class, so to resolve every problem and... and cast away every potential source of distraction, yes that's it. This way I could follow your class with my usual attention."

Vexen gave a cold gaze at his student, who was forcing himself to smile as naturally as possible. Then the old professor spoke.

"I remember chairs that were more attentive than you usually are! But if that's the case I believe the best option would be to let you go resolve your adolescent skirmishes hoping that this will help you stay more focused on my next class."

Sora took a breath of relief; he was already halfway through the door when the professor spoke again. "Just remember that I'll interrogate you next Friday to verify your good intentions: should I find myself unsatisfied by your answers I'll double your detention, is that clear?"

"Of course. Thank you, sir!" the brunet answered before running out of the room.

The cafeteria was full and it would have been that way for at least the whole next hour. Sora needed a good 10 minutes to find the table where his friends were seated. Kairi was in deep conversation with Selphie while Tidus and Roxas were exchanging some fervent opinions on their favorite bands. Riku wasn't with them, of course.

"Hey, Sora! Vexen let you go already?" asked Kairi honestly surprised.

"Uh? Yes... yes I managed to moving him to pity. Have you seen..."

"Don't tell me that old iceberg has a heart 'cause I won't believe you. I bet you've thrown something to distract him and you've escaped." Tidus interrupted neglecting the fact that Roxas was insulting his favorite band.

"Yeah, like a chemistry book or a periodic table. Hi, bro, by the way!"

"Hi, Rox, I just wanted to know..."

"Nah, Sora probably used something that could exalt Vexen's character. I don't know, a whip, maybe?"

"A whip? I'd see him better with a muzzle!"

"Yeah, that old, creepy, b..."

"JUST TELL ME WHERE'S RIKU!"

At Sora shouting, an unnatural silence ran across the table for a moment. Then Kairi spoke.

"Uh, he... just told us that he had some things to take care of. Take a seat and relax for a moment, Sora."

Sora wanted to go and search for his best friend immediately, but he knew that if Riku didn't want to be found he wouldn't be found that easily. Then again he was starting to get hungry, so he decided that eating something was the best thing to do at that moment. He nodded at his friends and went to take something to eat; when back, he sat at Kairi's side.

"It's nice to see you, Sora. I've tried to call you all the evening yesterday but I couldn't reach you."

"Oh, right! I've broken my phone during a... discussion."

"The same discussion that left you with a black eye, right? Seifer really is an idiot!" Sora looked at Kairi surprised.

"How do you..." Then he turned his head to the other side of the table "Tidus!"

"Aw, man, what's up?" answered the blond boy, forgetting about the steak he was currently devouring.

"Why did you tell them about Seifer punching me yesterday?"

The blond boy paused for a second, then answered innocently. "I didn't. You're just doing it now!"

Sora noted that Roxas' muscles were tightening, but the blond boy didn't say anything. Sora felt like an idiot; not that he had ever wanted to keep secrets from his friends, but the less people knew about what happened, the less probability there was that Roxas and Riku would know about it: his brother and his best friend, the two people who, Sora was sure, would have gone out to search for his aggressors, putting themselves in trouble.

"He did what? Gosh, Sora, your eye!" Selphie exclaimed seeing the purple mark on Sora's face.

But Sora's mind was already elsewhere. He was getting a handle on all the implications that Kairi's knowledge of Seifer's aggression meant and he was always coming to the same conclusion.

"Kairi! Who told you about Seifer?" He nearly screamed, scaring the redhead girl with that sudden reaction. But she still gave him the answer that he already knew and didn't want to hear. He left his lunch nearly untouched and ran away without a single word, between the astonished looks of his friends.

* * *

**End Notes:** Sorry for those who expected something more, but this one and the next chapters will be more building before... something big I have in mind. And trust me, I don't think someone will expect it. Thank you to anyone who has put this fic on their alerts or favorites and for the few who have left a review, I've really appreciated it.


	11. Chapter 11: Three Wishes

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native English speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful.

**Chapter Notes: **Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Three Wishes**

_Monday_

"He knew it! Riku knew it all the time!"

Sora was running wildly across the crowd of students who were walking in the direction of the cafeteria. He didn't care for the people he clashed with, nor did he care for the usual laughing he could hear following him. Right now he only wanted to reach his locker as fast as possible to leave his books there: then he could go search for his best friend. He had to talk to him, explain to him what he felt, apologize for his behavior and, most important of all, to persuade him that their friendship was still valuable to him. He was already halfway through the stairway leading to the lockers when a hand on his shoulder startled him and nearly caused him to roll down the rest of the stairs.

"Sora, wait!"

"You scared me, Roxas! I've got some things to take care of, right now! We'll talk later about what happened with Seifer!" Sora replied hurrying on.

"It's not about the fact that you didn't tell me, wait just a sec!"

Sora looked at his brother nervously. The fact that he wanted go searching for Riku as fast as possible didn't mix very well with the sense of guilt that he felt towards his brother. "What's up, Rox?"

Roxas didn't answer, he simply surpassed Sora and looked behind the corner carefully.

"What's wrong, bro?" asked Sora who was growing impatient.

"You're lucky that I caught you in time!" answered Roxas to his brother. "That bastard is still there!"

"Uh? Who are you talking about?"

Sora reached Roxas and looked past the corner as well. His look wandered through the nearly empty corridor, searching for who could have upset his brother that way. And then he saw him, close to where his locker was roughly located: Rai, an annoyed expression painted on his face.

"Why is he there? Do you mean... Seifer is looking for me?" asked the brunet that was starting to look around him nervously. "But how did you know..."

"I saw that big idiot when I came here about half an hour ago. I noticed him and I found it strange that he was there without his 'oh-so-precious' Seifer! And when you told me that Seifer hit you I immediately thought it was connected with his lackey waiting here, close to your locker."

"Geez! I really owe you one, Roxas! Let's get out of here before the other two of them will arrive!" added Sora, already halfway back to the stairs. But he suddenly felt a hand on his arm.

"What? You really want to run away?" Roxas was clearly getting excited. "We're two against one, he won't even touch us! I'm sure that idiot of Seifer left him here on guard while he went eating, he won't..."  
"No!" exclaimed Sora looking at his brother, his arm still trapped in Roxas' grip. "I don't want any problem, I've already had enough as it is!"

"You won't avoid problems by simply turning your back to them! You'll have to face them sooner or later!" The blond boy was starting to raise the tone of his voice.

"Well, maybe, but I prefer to deal with them later!" the brunet replied freeing his arm. "That's precisely the reason why I didn't tell you anything! I knew you would have acted as the hothead that you are!"

"You ungrateful..." Roxas muttered evidently trying to control himself without success. "I'm only trying to help you in case you haven't noticed!"

"Well, stop doing it then!" Sora's voice too was growing louder "I can handle the situation myself! And if I need help I still have my friends!"

"Oh, yeah! I've seen how you treat your friends! In the last two days you've punched Tidus and ignored Kairi, not to mention the way you've acted with Riku! All you can do is whine about how cruel the world is towards you and pretend that everyone is here commiserating you!" Roxas was livid; Sora felt those words like a knife in his guts. And, like all the times he had heard someone questioning his friendships, he couldn't control himself.

"Who are you to tell me how to act towards my friends? I've seen where your ways have brought you! Your friends have left you, do you think I haven't noticed that Olette is the only one that still talks to you? You spend your time with my friends because yours can't stand you anymore!"

Roxas didn't answer. His blue eyes were wide and fixed on his brother's, but his expression wasn't one of anger. And while Sora couldn't recognize it for what it was, he slowly began to realize that he had gone too far.

"Ro... Roxas, I... I didn't mean..."

"You don't even know what you're talking about..."

Murmuring those words, Roxas turned back, running away from his brother.

"W-Wait! Roxas! I'm sorry, do you hear me? ROXAS!" Sora was screaming and he had started to run after his brother, but the moment he was out of the building the blond boy had already disappeared.

_'What's wrong with me?'_

* * *

Sora slammed the main door of the dormitory. "Luxord, have you seen my brother? Or Riku?"

The doorkeeper raised his eyes from his book and looked for a moment at the nervous brunet who was standing in front of him, then he closed his book, he stood up and he went in the direction of his office. "Come in, I'll make some tea."

Sora hesitated. "Thank you, Luxord, but really, it is urgent! I have to find Roxas and Riku as soon as..."  
"They aren't here, I would have seen them otherwise. And judging by your look you need to chill out a moment. Trust me, I'm sure it's the best thing you can do."

Not really persuaded, Sora entered the office of the doorkeeper. It was true that he had no idea where to search for his brother or his best friend, but still he felt bad sipping tea peacefully and idly after what had happened. He took place on one of the pouffes and looked at the old clock that was hanging from the wall: it was 13:30, luckily monday afternoon he had no class, just like his brother. Riku did, however; Sora just couldn't remember which class.

_'How do I manage to always ruin everything for everyone?'_

Luxord gave him a green cup and took another pouffe for himself. "Here! Drink it while it's hot."

Sora started to drink; a little grimace appeared on his face when he realized how bitter the tea was, but he knew that Luxord, as the true tea-drinker that he was, didn't allow sugar or others sweeteners in his drinks.

"You have to get accustomed to it, otherwise you'll never feel his true taste." Luxord proclaimed reading Sora's thoughts. "So, what's the matter, Sora?"

"Uhm..." started Sora, a little more relaxed than before with something hot in his stomach. "Let's just say that I messed up with everybody." Luxord didn't say anything, so Sora kept talking. "I have to talk to my brother, I told him... some awful things." Sora felt another wave of guiltiness devouring him from the inside; how could he have told those things to his brother? He knew that Roxas was feeling bad for whatever had happened with Hayner and Pence but that had not stopped him from being merciless with him. Apparently Luxord didn't have any intentions to talk so the brunet continued. "All of this was because I was angry about what he had told me, but..." he paused a moment and took a deep breath. "...but he was right: I've acted really bad towards my friends while they were only trying to help me, not to mention the way I treated Riku but I... I..."

"You were scared, weren't you?" Luxord asked politely.

"...yes. As a matter of fact, I was... I am..." a dejected Sora admitted, sinking in his pouffe. After some seconds, the doorkeeper spoke again.

"Well, take place on the desk." Sora looked surprised at him, then at the ancient desk, standing forgotten in a corner of the room.

"Your desk, you mean? But I..."

"Do as I say, trust me." Luxord added, his usual calm yet authoritarian tone, cutting short Sora's objections.

The brunet reached the desk and sat on the finely inlaid wood chair; the desk itself was filled with tons of books and papers, there wasn't even the slightest spot free. At least until the moment Luxord took a pile of books and put them on the ground, giving a piece of paper to Sora afterwards.

"Here! Now write!"

Sora looked at the blonde man, perplexed. "Uh... What should I write precisely?"

"Happiness is not the absence of problems, it's the ability to deal with them. But you can't deal with them if you can't first figure them out clearly, right?"

Sora looked at Luxord, wide blue eyes clearly showing the effort it took to figure out what he should do. Luxord smiled at him.

"Just write down your problems on a list. It will be easier for you to deal with them."

Sora took the feather on the desk and put the tip of it in the ink.

* * *

Sora entered his chamber. No sign of Roxas as expected, so he turned his head to look at the clock: nearly 3 o' clock. He passed near his pictures-wall, took off his favorite photo nearly unconsciously and jumped on the bed. For a moment he wondered if Roxas would come back sooner or later, he had the habit, on the rare occasions they had had a discussion, to go sleep at Hayner's, one of his former friends. He looked at the paper that he was holding in his right hand and that he had rewritten at least five times; he read one more time the few lines on it:

1- Apologize to Roxas

2- Explain the situation to Kairi and the others

**3- Clear up things with Riku**

He then looked at the picture that he was holding in his left hand, depicting his and his brother's birthday. He smiled a little.

* * *

**End** **Notes: **Not too much to say on this chapter, thank you as usual at whoever is reading my story and a special thank to Gracefuldahlia who has become a beta-reader for the story (first chapter already revised). Reviews and suggestions are not mandatories, but very much appreciated nonetheless :)


	12. Chapter 12: Wishing Star

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native English speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **Clearing up your mind is half the job done.

* * *

**Chapter 12: Wishing Star**

_Tuesday_

"Hey, kiddo! What's up?"

Sora spat orange juice all over the table and looked at the redhead from whom he had just received a pat on the back. He smiled at him.

"Hi, Axel! Take a seat, I'm having breakfast."

"Yeah, I can see that..." answered Axel looking at the waffles, hash browns, scrambled eggs, ham omelet, twin glasses of chocolate milk and the single slice of pizza that were lying on the table.

"I'm hungry." said Sora that in the meantime had resumed his chewing activity, anticipating Axel's successive question. "In the last few days I've eaten little to nothing, so..."

"So since you've failed to starve, you've decided to die of cholesterol." interrupted the older boy grabbing a waffle while taking a seat. "Your brother isn't here, kiddo?"

"My friends are having their classes. Haven't you remarked that it is 10 o'clock? And I'll start phys ed in 15 minutes."

"I've had it earlier this morning, but prof. Lexue... Leaxu... L-E-A-Z-... oh, the physical education prof. suggested me to take a break. At least for today."

"What have you done this time?"

"Me? Nothing at all!" Sora looked at him skeptical.

"Well, there's the possibility that he took offense when I laughed at him but, come on, man: seeing that big guy flattened under that dozen of barbells was something hilarious, trust me."

"And you've got nothing to do with the fact that he actually was under those barbells, right?" asked Sora with a grin on his face.

"Of course not! It was Saïx's doing, that's why he got a brief vacation too." explained Axel with the expression of someone who wasn't telling something new. "He has been luckier than me, though; he has been suspended for three days while I've got only one. By the way..."

Sora didn't like that pause but he said nothing and continued to eat.

"He was busy but he asked me to search for you to tell you that he will wait for you at the cafeteria at 12 o' clock, got it memorized?"

Sora looked at Axel perplexed, then he realized.

"Man! I had completely forgot that Xemnas wanted me to see Saïx! Told that I had to frequent a "more appropriate company" than my friends..."

Now it was Axel's turn to look surprised. "You mean it was the headmaster who arranged this meeting?"

"Well, yes, you didn't know? Why else should I go eat with your friend, I don't even know him..." Sora was now serious. "Axel, there's something I should know?"

"Nothing worth of mention, I suppose." answered the redhead regaining his usual cocky attitude and putting another waffle in his mouth. But that day Sora wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"If you know something that I don't, please, tell me. And I want the truth!" His voice was calm, yet unusually authoritarian.

"You really think the truth is going to make you feel better? It won't!" Axel looked at his phone. "Gotta go, things to do, people to see, you know the drill. Tell Saïx I said "Hi" and remember him to tell you about this weekend. Have a nice day, kiddo!"

And with those words he disappeared, leaving a confused Sora behind him.

Ten minutes later Sora was running through the meadow trying to reach the gym _'Uff, I'm late again! I just hope everyone else also is.' _The young boy sorted a piece of paper compiled the day before from his pocket and looked at it while still running. _'Luckily all the sophomore students have phys ed now, so I'll be able to talk with my brother and my friends. Then I'll have the rest of the day to go search for Riku.'_ He put the paper back in his pocket and entered the building hosting the gym. He turned right, struggling to resist the temptation to go left and reach the main cafeteria for another little breakfast. He surpassed the big windows from which he could see the swimming pool one floor down and entered the male locker room.

"Hey! The locker room of the girls is on the other side!"

A chorus of laughters erupted from the huge room where about fifty students were changing their clothes. The brunet couldn't spot who had said that, but that didn't stop him from blushing deeply.

"Shut up, idiots!" exclaimed a blond boy half naked. "Hey, come here, Sora! Uhm... what's up?"

Sora felt a great gratitude towards Tidus and reached him quickly, trying to ignore the comments directed at the two of them.

"It's fine, if we can say that. I'd like to talk with you but..." Sora looked around him quickly catching some eyes that were frowning at him. "...but I don't think this is the best place to do it."

"Sure, Sora. Something happened?"

"Nah... nothing new, at least. I just... kinda wanted to apologize for my behavior these last two days. And to thank you for your support."

"Then we've got nothing to talk about!" answered Tidus leaving his friend slightly surprised. "I've already told you that I understand the situation. You were just confused and you acted rashly. I'm happy that you've started to react, now! But why did you run away yesterday? Roxas ran towards you after that..."

"Oh, see, it was just that..."

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" started to intone a growing choir. This time, both boys blushed.

"Ignore them, they'll eventually grow tired of this stupid game!" murmured Tidus to his friend.

"I'm sorry you have to stand this, it's all my fault!"  
"Well, Riku isn't totally innocent on this. Let's go now or we'll be late again. And don't worry about us, we're fine for me."

_'To think it was him the one who used to tease me and Riku the most... Thank you, Tidus!'_

"Running in circle -uff- around the gym. Can you -wheeze- imagine a more boring way to train for the endurance test?" asked Kairi clearly breathless.

"Well, at least nobody tries to trip you every time you surpass him." answered Sora mid-laughing and slowing down a little.

"Oh, they're so mean with you?" An hyperactive Selphie had just reached them.

"You prefer not to know it, trust me." muttered the boy. "I wonder if Riku is having it as bad as me."

"Come on, you know him better than us! He doesn't give a damn about what people think." quickly answered Kairi.

"Yeah, you're right." admitted Selphie. "More than that, I doubt someone will ever put into question his sexuality considering all the girls he goes out with, while you..." Sora saw with the corner of his eye Kairi giving a kick to her friend. "Ehr... I mean..."

"Yes, I know." admitted Sora slightly blushing. "My only girlfriend has been Kairi and we all know how it all ended." Kairi turned her look away.

"Anyway" quickly added the boy changing subject and enjoying that. "I wanted to apologize to you both for... acting weird, mainly. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

Kairi and Selphie looked at each other for a moment, than the redhead talked. "Sora, don't worry: we understand! You must be kinda confused, I think it's natural to act a bit strange with all that has happened around you these days."

"Yes, but remember that we'll always be here for you." added Selphie smiling to him.

"Hey! Have you seen prof. Laxi... Laxa... the prof?" asked Tidus joining the three friends who turned their heads to look for the unusually sat professor. "I wonder what's wrong with him, he hasn't budged an inch since the beginning of the class."

"I've heard someone dropped some barbells on him. Listen, Tid, Have you seen my brother? It's not like him to skip phys ed."

"Nope, but he will probably show up at launch."

"Oh, right, I was forgetting: I won't come eating with you today. The headmaster wants me to spend some time with Saïx."

"Wow!" Selphie's voice was openly ironic. "I wonder what marvelous conversation you can have with him -Oh, have you seen what a nice weather!- -...- -Yeah, so...- -...- Have I already told you how much I appreciate this weather?-"

Kairi laughed while Tidus kissed his girlfriend making Sora rolling his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. I have to do it anyway, it won't cost me too much and it's always better not to enrage the headmaster."

"You're right on that, better not to tick off that old loon." answered Kairi approaching to the brunet and starting to talk quietly. "Listen, I've got something to discuss with you, when you have the time."

"You four! Run faster!" The voice of prof. Lexaeus startled them.

Sora looked at his friend whispering in return. "Yeah, sure. Today after school is fine by you?"

"Sounds great! 3 and a quarter at the back of the gym! Now let's go back to the exercises before what's-his-name will get angry."

Sora left the class a little earlier to avoid the crowd of students in the locker room; he could only imagine the teasing that would have going on in the showers and he didn't really had the patience for that, so he took a shower as fast as possible and, after have taken his black bag, he started to walk in the direction of his locker. He wondered where Roxas could have been in that moment: he hadn't slept at their room that night, meaning that there were nearly 24 hours since the last time he had saw his brother. He was definitely missing him.

* * *

**End Notes:** "Advanced Theory" of Dualism is one of the best kh fic ever written. And I didn't write "probably" or "in my opinion". So I've decided to pay homage to that particular story with Sora's breakfast which, according to "Advanced Theory", it consists in his favourite foods :) Next week the road to chapter 15 will begin!


	13. Chapter 13: Lunar Eclipse

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **You will be judged by the company you keep.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Lunar Eclipse**

_Tuesday_

Sora arrived at the cafeteria late and with his gym clothes still in his bag: apparently Seifer hadn't yet forgotten their encounter and had left Rai in front of his locker. Again. And that meant that he would have had to bring around all of his things for the whole day.

_'Damn Seifer! What does he wants from me? Uff, one problem at a time: right now I have to find Mr. Blue Hair.' _

After some minutes of searching in the already full of people cafeteria he finally spotted Saïx, sat on a table in a corner of the room, evidently the most secluded place he had found; Sora thought that he probably wanted to avoid being in the center of the room with him. He looked around him: surprisingly, nobody was teasing nor even looking at him, at which the brunet took a sigh of relief; he knew it wouldn't have lasted, though. With a quite forced smile, he walked in the direction of the senior student he had to spent lunch with.

"Hi, Saïx! I'm Sora, remember me? We've met at the..."  
"...Back To School Party, yes, I remember. It was when Dem's schoolmate kissed you." answered the blue-haired guy in a tone completely devoid of any sort of emotion while slowly turning to look at the brunet. Sora froze at the abrupt remark and at the sharp yellow eyes that were inspecting him. After some awkward seconds at staring at each other, Sora talked.

"Y-yeah, it's me. Uhm... how are you doing? Xem- I mean, the headmaster..."

"I know, he likes to meddle in my life, I'm sorry that you got caught in the middle."

Sora had the impression that he was being honest, nevertheless he couldn't help but notice that the tone of his voice was always flat; should have been a genetic trait of his family...

"So... uhm... we take something to eat?" asked Sora resisting the urge to grab and shake what looked like a totally apathetic guy.

"Yeah, whatever."

For the first half of the lunch neither of them talked. Sora figured that Saïx was feeling in a similar way as him, forced by his father to eat with that strange sophomore student for some kind of unknown reason. Still, while the two of them hadn't spoke a single word, the blue haired boy had kept staring at him with his usual blank expression, so reminiscent and yet so different from Riku's. Sora was starting to feel uneasy.

"You're dating that Riku?"

The brunet spat his orange juice all over the table, coughing loudly at the abrupt question. He would have thought to a joke if it wouldn't have been for the serious expression painted on Saïx's face. "What? No-no-no! It's not like this! I don't know what you've heard but he's my friend, not my... boyfriend or something like that!"

"That's fine. So I suppose you're single, right now?"

"Uh? Yeah, not by my choice but... yes, I am." Sora lowered instinctively his eyes for just a moment but when he lifted them up again he could catch a glimpse of what looked like a smirk on the older boy's face. "Umpf! I'm happy that you find it funny!"

Saïx immediately went back to his usual serious self. "It isn't a matter of finding it funny." answered the blue-haired guy leaving Sora even more confused. "What are your weekend plans, anyway?"

"Oh, yeah, Axel told me something about this. Nothing at the moment, but..."

"Then it's settled. You're lucky, we've decided to bring you to a... very special place. We'll leave Friday at 5 o'clock, take something with you 'cause we'll be back Sunday evening."

Sora gasped. The idea of spending the entire weekend with Saïx's bunch was as tranquilizing as the perspective of prof. Vexen's interrogation that same Friday.

"Hey-hey, wait a sec! I don't know if I'll come, with whom we'd go, anyway? And what is this place? And besides..." Sora wondered how much direct he could and wanted to be. Then he decided that subtlety was for princesses.

"Why are you inviting me? Half the school is laughing at me while the other half is waiting to catch me alone to beat me up!" Sora was pointing at his still bruised eye, his voice now slightly shaking but he continued to talk. "Even now I'm sure there are some idiots who are speculating on what we are doing together!" Noticing Saïx's smirk reappearing, Sora blushed slightly. "I mean, you're putting yourself 'at risk' just by talking to me! Why are you doing this?"

The older boy didn't answer immediately. He put the last of his lunch into his mouth and then, after some seconds, he talked.

"You care too much about what people think. But I suppose I should be grateful for your concern. Anyway: me, Ax, Larx, Zex and Dem." At the confused look of the younger boy Saïx talked again. "The people that are coming this weekend. You asked."

"Oh, right. Thanks." Sora didn't know if he had to feel more relaxed or more worried about the discovery of who he was risking to spend the weekend with. _'A chronic troublemaker, an incendiary, a wrangler and a pseudo-intellectual! Aside from Tidus' brother they are all one more worrisome than the other! I wonder what could they have on their minds...'_

"You don't have to worry, we'll simply catch up with some friends from another school for a... relaxing weekend." For a moment Sora thought that Saïx could read his mind; then again, differently from the one of his interlocutor, his expression had always been too much easily readable.

"Oh, yes, I was almost forgetting: your brother is invited too, Axel vouched for him. Just tell him not to be late." Sora felt a little more relieved at those words: at least, in the case he would have decided to go, he wouldn't have been alone. Sure, if he could find and make peace with Roxas before Friday. _'Axel must have thought that I would have felt more comfortable with someone I know.'_

The rest of the lunch went quite quietly. For all his tries, Sora could not find who those "friends from another school" were, not to say where that other school was or why the heck the seniors had started to show so much interest in him lately. Then again, when Saïx departed muttering something about some phys ed professor's car to paint pink giving Sora the possibility to rejoin his friends before the beginning of the class of the afternoon, he realized that he also didn't know how the older boy had managed to trick him into paying the lunch for the both of them and so he decided that all those questions weren't really of importance, after all.

No trace of his brother, of course, and no Riku in sight; he spent the last ten minutes of the lunch break discussing with Kairi, Tidus and Selphie what the seniors could have planned for the weekend. He also remarked that, when he wasn't alone, people tended not to pick on him. Well, not too much at least, but that day the occasional whistles directed at him were covered by Tidus' lamentations that his brother never invited him anywhere and by the other three boys' laughters. Sora found himself smiling.

* * *

**End Notes: **No particular reason: sometimes you simply aren't satisfied by something you've written (namely this chapter). And you just can't figure out why... Thank you to all those who have left a review, especially to DreamKey who has pointed out my use/abuse of exclamation marks (ehm...). It's always nice to get some constructive criticism, help you improve (I hope).


	14. Chapter 14: Crown of Guilt

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native English speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **History can't be done with "if" and "but".

* * *

**Chapter 14: Crown of Guilt**

_Tuesday_

Sora had wondered for all the day if there was something worse than the prospect of going home to study for an interrogation of chemistry. The answer was probably that prospect plus an interrogation of maths which he had completely forgot and which he remembered the moment the one-eyed math professor stepped in the class, his hairs in a pony tail and his scruffy usual look. The brunet looked nervously around him: nearly everybody was trying to shield themselves as best as they could behind their books.

"Hey, Roxas! Welcome to the program, as they say. Always in your own world, sky-boy?"

Sora shivered at the hearing of prof. Xigbar's voice. He was not bad at maths, but an interrogation was always an interrogation...

"Hey, prof! I think you put that eyepatch on the wrong eye, this one is Sora."

Sora could heard someone whisper "Yeah, the shirt-lifter!" from behind him, low enough to not be heard by the professor but loud enough to be heard by him. At that moment, though, he was more relieved that someone had diverted the attention of the professor from him.

"Zexion! Be a good boy now, as if I would interrogate you... I'm sure that you've revised your lessons. But since you are so witty..." Prof. Xigbar looked at the redhead behind Zexion. "Flamesilocks! Come out at the blackboard, you can thank your friend later for this."

A sound similar to a boy falling out of his chair could be heard in all the room. Sora could not help but smile at Axel's hasty attempts to put himself back on his feet while trying to talk the professor out of the clearly unavoidable interrogation.

"As if. You can talk all you want, but that won't change a thing."

Sora was just breathing a sigh of relief for the escaped danger when a little piece of paper fell on his desk; he imagined that he should have been some kind of insult from one of his idiotic classmates, but after a moment his curiosity prevailed on his dignity and he opened it. There were only a few words written but they fell on Sora like a pile of bricks; he immediately turned back to see that girl with whom he had talked at best two times in all of his life, discretely waving at him. She had bright green eyes, soft peach-colored skin and brown hair sticking out on the sides with two strands of hair falling from either side of her head, just long enough to drape over her shoulders.

-You need to talk to Roxas. He should be in my room, right now. Olette-

The brunet turned the piece of paper and started to write on its back. -I don't know what he told you but he's mad at me. I'm sure he won't open me.- He waited for the professor to be focused on his victim and then he tossed it back at Olette.

He didn't had to wait too long for an answer. After barely a minute another piece of paper, larger than the first and accurately bent around something, slid on the floor and reached his foot.

-I'm none to tell you what to do but he hasn't go out from my chamber since yesterday. I'm worried and from the little he has told me there's something going on with you. Room 224.-

Sora looked at the little key wrapped around the paper, then he looked at prof. Xigbar who was looking perplexed at Axel's signs of chalk on the blackboard encircling the X on the side of a triangle, just under the words "Find the X".

Sora raised a hand "Sorry, professor. I'm not feeling well, I think I should go back to the dormitory."

"As if! You don't feel well during an interrogation, uh? Bah, just scram, I prefer not to risk having you on my conscience in the remote hypothesis you're really feeling sick."

Sora took his things and walked out of the class escorted only by the voice of the professor who was shouting some quite low numbers at Axel, but taking the time to look at Olette who was slightly smiling at him. The moment he was out of sight, he started running. He could not wait another second: even if there was only one day that Roxas had disappeared he had felt it like an eternity. In the last 2 days Sora had learned more or less to dodge the students who, he remarked, tended to tease him when he was alone. At that time of the day, anyway, there were very few people around the campus so the brunet could focus on reaching as fast as possible the dormitory. The moment he read the numbers 2-2-4 on a door, though, he stopped.

_'He will really be here? What can I say to him? And most important, how will he react?'_

He took a deep breath, then he put the key in the keyhole and slowly opened the door: he had never been in that chamber but he found it quite comfortable; at least it wasn't excessively "girly", with the exception of the bunk bed on his right that hosted some bright orange curtains that Sora thought were probably classified as harmful for the eyes. The desk at which is brother was sat and that he was now looking at him in disbelief, on the contrary, was perfectly fine.

"What...?" asked the blond boy apparently unable to formulate a full sentence.

"Hi, Rox. Can I enter?"

"You've already done that!"

"Oh, yeah, I meant..."  
"How did you find me?" Roxas was quickly putting himself together.

"O-Olette told me you were here..."

"...and I thought she was still my friend..."

"Please, I just want to talk."

"... alright, then! What do you have to say?"

Sora walked some steps in the direction of his brother and he promptly toss him a chair. Sora took it as a good sign.

"So, why are you here?"

Sora found very difficult to do it, but he kept looking straight in the blue eyes of the blond boy in front of him. "I'm sorry, brother."

Roxas didn't answer, a slightly sad expression painted on his face.

"I didn't mean what I told you, really, I know you were just worried for me. I've acted like a jerk and I've treated you and my friends in a... in a despicable way to say the less. You were right in your every word and I knew it, I just couldn't... I just didn't want to admit it... to you and to myself. And I may not know what has happened with your friends, but for what it counts... I'm sorry, Rox. I can understand if you don't want to talk to me right now, but..."

Sora stopped talking as he saw Roxas stood up. He thought that his brother was going to punch him; fine, he had deserved it. Instead he did something that the brunet found a lot more frightening: he hugged him.

"R-Roxas?"

"Sora, you idiot! How can you think that I can left you alone with all that's happening around you. You don't know how guilty I've felt for abandoning you and... for lying to you."  
Once overcome the surprise, Sora hugged his brother back. Then, when Roxas went to sit on the bed, he thought on what the blond boy had just told him... "Rox... when did you lie to me?"

Roxas closed his eyes and let a long sigh escape him. Sora shivered: he was not used to that kind of behavior from his rough, tough brother. He sat on his side, however.

"Sora! Just promise me that you won't laugh at what I'm going to tell you."

Sora nodded and a tear dropped from Roxas's eyes. The first one Sora had ever seen. And that scared him the most.

* * *

**End Notes: **Nothing. Really.


	15. Chapter 15: Two Become One

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native English speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **All that glitters is not gold.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Two Become One**

_Tuesday_

"Rox. What's going on?"

Roxas was looking at the wall, hands on his sides and motionless. "Do you remember the last time we had an argument?"

Sora looked at the ground, apparently waiting for an answer from his feet. He then looked at his brother a little embarrassed. "Yes, it was when I thought... ehm... that you were in love with Olette's roommate, that Naminé girl, and..."

"...and you thought it was a good idea to go and talk to her about me, but that's not the point. I was so angry at you that I went at Hayner's..."

Sora gulped at the statement: it was the first time since a long time that Roxas was naming one of his ex-friends. Roxas' eyes were still fixed on the wall.

"Pence was with her girlfriend that evening, so... we spent some time alone..." Sora was trying as hard as he could, but he still couldn't figure where did Roxas want to get at. Of one thing he was sure, though: he was going to discover what had happened 2 months prior that had interrupted their friendship.

"I know it's stupid, but I remember every moment of that evening." Some other tears started to flow from the eyes of the blond boy while Sora's heart started to accelerate. "We talked a moment about... about what had happened and stuff, you know. And then we decided to watch a movie... Hayner chose it, said that I had to look it, that it was great..." Sora was scared by the broken tone of Roxas' voice, he couldn't remember a time when he had acted that way. He forced himself to keep looking at him, but Roxas' blue eyes were still inexorably attracted from the wall. "And it really was a good movie... I think... I didn't really watch it, I was more interested in..." He stopped. A thought started to form in Sora's mind but he quickly dismissed it. Too much quickly.

Roxas slowly turned his head until he could look at the identical blue eyes of his brother.

"I... I tried to kiss him!"

It took a whole minute to Sora to realize what his brother was telling him. "You... tried... to..."

Roxas, who had in the meantime shifted his look to the bedspread, nodded slowly. "And then... what happened?"

"He... he got mad at me and I... I told him all, I told him that... that I liked him, that it had been like that for quite some time and... and that I thought he was... feeling the same...".

Sora was shocked. He looked at his shattered brother in disbelief, unable to put more than three words together. "You... like... guys?"

The brunet could see Roxas shiver at those words, eyes still fixed on the bed they were sat on. The voice of the blond boy was getting more and more low to the point that Sora had to approach to hear something. "He called me a... a freak and... and he... he told me to stay away from him. So... I ran away..."

"W-why didn't you call me, then?"

"I wanted to, seriously, but... but I was... feeling real bad and... and I didn't want to let you see me... that way... so I went see Olette instead! She has been... comprehensive as to say..."

"But why didn't you tell me anything the day after?" Sora couldn't help but feel hurt that his brother had hidden from him such an important thing.

"It hasn't passed a day in the last two months that Olette hasn't try to convince me to tell you all!" admitted Roxas, a shade of remorse in his voice.

"Then why you didn't?" asked Sora with a crippled voice.

Roxas finally rose his look, wet eyes looking again at Sora. "I didn't want you to look at me... like... like..."

"Like people look at me right now..." ended the sentence the brunet.

For several seconds the two brothers simply stared at each other without talking. Then Sora punched him.

"You're an idiot, Rox!"

Roxas drew back, sincerely scared. He stopped when he reached the end of the bed.

"So-Sora... I-I..."

"How could you think even just for a moment that I could look at you any differently? You're my brother and that's the only thing that matters, I don't care what people say; I've experienced how it is to be treated this way only because people think I'm... well, homosexual. And I'm sure of one thing: I could never do to you the same thing."

Roxas smiled slightly, a shy smile that Sora found unusual on his face. "Thank you, bro."

"Who else knows about this story?" asked Sora being unusually practical.

"Well... Olette and Hayner, of course. I'm pretty sure he has also told it to Pence, but I think they kept the whole affair secret. I suppose they didn't want the school to know that they were friends with a..."

Roxas didn't end the sentence, but Sora knew what he meant. He looked at the pink clock on the wall and winced, not only for the pain that his eyes were experiencing in front of that thing (seriously, how could he have thought that that room wasn't girly...), but mainly for the fact that he was already late for his rendez-vous with Kairi.

"Uhm... Rox, I have to go see Kairi." Sora saw a glimpse of panic in the eyes of his brother. "Don't worry, I don't think it will be a very long thing. We'll discuss again about... uhm... all of this, this evening. At our room!" He stressed particularly well the last three words, as for showing him that he was expecting him to be back. Roxas relaxed a little.

"O-Ok. See ya later, then." The same shy smile as before appeared on his face; the same one Sora found too much unfitting on Roxas' face.

_'My brother... is GAY?!'_

Sora was still shocked as he continued to walk towards the gym when Kairi was probably already waiting for him; he wondered what she wanted to tell him. He surpassed a boy and a girl who were holding their hands_ 'Why didn't I see it before? I'd never seen him with a girl, nor he had ever talked about it... I wonder how he must have felt all these years, and I've never done anything for him...' _Sora was experiencing another wave of guiltiness, a sensation that he was experiencing too often as of lately; it became quickly suppressed by another feeling, though: one of anger. _'Those idiots have left him alone only because of his... his... "sexual preferences". And he called them friends...'_

And then something stroke his mind so abruptly that he stopped walking. _'Remember that you're lucky to have someone to back you up. My best suggestion is to talk with Roxas.'_ Luxord's words echoed in his mind "He knew everything, all the time..." Sora resumed his walking, a quiet smile on his face.

* * *

**End Notes: **O-k! Roxas is out! And this will surely make his brother think a lot... and maybe he'll start seeing some things from another perspective. I'm really fond of this chapter and I hope you've liked reading it at least half as much as I've liked writing it. Merry Christmas (a little late, but still :) to whoever celebrate it.


	16. Chapter 16: Oathkeeper

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **Bacio di bocca spesso cuor non tocca?

* * *

**Chapter ****16: Oathkeeper**

_Tuesday_

The back of the gym was probably the most shady place in all of the campus. Because the gym was on its northern extremity and its perimeter was quite irregular, the space left between the huge building and the even huger wall surrounding the campus was nothing less than a dark alley. Sora surpassed a recess: three guys glared at him in a smelly cloud that left to the brunet no doubt about what they were smoking; he ignored them and continued walking, but after only a few more steps he recognized a voice that made him freeze.

"...so why do you wanted to see me here, of all the places?"

Sora started to walk slowly, paying particular attention at not being heard. The voice was coming from behind another recess; he looked with the corner of his eye who the owner of the voice was talking to.

"Uhm... Let's just say that I didn't want to foment some... uhm... rumors about you and Sora!"

Kairi looked kinda embarrassed. _'Strange for her...' _thought Sora. The main question that bothered him, however, was another. _'What the hell is doing Riku here?'_

"So? What did you want to talk to me about?" The voice of the silver-haired boy brought him back to the reality.

"Uhm... Just... just wait a sec... How are you doing anyway? Haven't seen you very often the last few days..." Sora found kind of pathetic the attempt of Kairi to buy some time and, apparently, Riku was of the same opinion.

"He is coming here, right?" The brunet was surprised to hear what he was sure to be a very well-hidden shade of anxiety in the voice of his best friend.

"Riku..." started Kairi.

"I've already told you that I don't want to see Sora! What's your problem?"

Sora was sure to hear something break inside his chest. From his position he could see the silver-haired boy starting to walk away, luckily for him towards the opposite side of the alley.

"Wait, Riku!" The older boy stopped for a moment, but when the redhead didn't say anything else he resumed his walking. He stopped again at Kairi's successive question, though.

"What do you really feel for him?"

Riku didn't answer. He didn't move either. Sora, on the other side, nearly fell on the ground. _'What the...' _The brunet moved behind a conveniently placed trashcan to be sure not to be seen. After some more seconds of awkward silence, Riku finally talked.

"This is none of your business!" answered clearly annoyed without moving nor turning to look at Kairi.

"I-I know, Riku! I was just thinking that maybe..." Riku abruptly came back to the girl while Sora's heart started to accelerate faster and faster.

"Maybe what?" answered with a totally pissed off tone and a calm yet menacing look accentuated by his still bruised eye.

"I-I don't know, maybe... maybe that kiss..." Sora remarked how close Riku was at that moment from Kairi. He was so intensely glaring at her that the brunet thought that he was going to punch her. He was sure he wouldn't have done it, though. Quite sure.

"Maybe it wasn't a joke!" finally said Kairi with a clear voice, reacting to Riku's violation of her personal space.

"So you're saying I'm in love with my best friend? My MALE best friend? You're saying that I'm GAY?" Riku was now overly aggressive, at least in his tone of voice, to the point that Sora shivered so violently that he nearly knocked over the trashcan he was hiding behind. He wasn't sure if it was for the way the words were spoken or for their meaning, though.

"I... I..."

"Fine! Think what you want, for all I care! You're no different from all the other idiots that roam in this school!" And with those words Riku disappeared, leaving behind him a clearly hurt Kairi; Sora knew it very well: when he wanted to, his best friend could hurt people really hard.

"Kai..."

The redhead winced at Sora's voice. "So-Sora!" Sora immediately noted that her eyes were more shining than usual, as if she was about to cry. "Since when were you here?"

"Uh... I... I've just arrived!" Man, he was really, really bad at lying. He just hoped that Kairi was shaken enough to not realize it...

"You're really bad at lying, you know?" The girl was quickly regaining control of herself.

"I know." admitted the boy. "So... uhm... about you wanting to see me and... Riku being here..."

"Yes, I'm sorry." Kairi came close to her friend. "I just wanted to talk with the both of you and manage to find... some kind of solution. But Riku isn't really willing to see you..."

"Yeah, he told me..." Sora thought at Riku's words in the toilet of the school; until that moment he had never thought that he could have lost his friend forever and that thought made him shiver once more. But there was something else on his mind...

"You... uhm... Do you want to go drink something together?" He really didn't know how to bring up the subject, but he really wanted to. He had to.

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

On the way to the cafeteria, Sora found himself unable to understand a single word of the polite filler conversation of Kairi, absorbed as he was in his thoughts. Between Saïx's mysterious invitation for the weekend, Roxas' shocking confession and now the scene he had just assisted, with Kairi insinuating that Riku could have some feelings for...

"Kairi!" exclaimed the brunet so abruptly that his friend looked at him in a surprised way.

"What's... Why..." he paused a moment, thinking to the most fitting words to use. "You really think that Riku..." he lowered his voice and his look "...likes me? 'Likes' like 'likes-likes'?" So much for the most fitting words.

"Oh, Sora, I'm sorry! You heard what I told him, isn't it? I swear, I didn't mean bad, I just thought... that maybe..." Kairi looked like she was on the brink of a panic attack. Sora guessed she was probably still shaken by Riku's harsh words, so he put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know, calm down. Just tell me what do you think is going on with Riku."

"I'm sorry, really." answered the girl slowly regaining her composure. "But... What if it was true? What if he really wanted to kiss you? Have you ever thought about it?"

Sora for a moment felt like an idiot: he had to admit that he had never thought about it, he had gone straight to the conclusion that that kiss was some kind of stupid joke. But what if Riku harbored some kind of sentimental feelings for him? But it wasn't possible: there were too many evidences that pointed to the other side. Literally.

"But... that's impossible!" muttered the confused boy "I mean, he's not girlish at all, it's Riku we're talking about, mr. 'I've-slept-with-more-girls-than-you-can-ever-imag ine'" He laughed a little, nervously "It was you who told me that kiss was only a joke!"

"Precisely! And this is the point, Riku has never confirmed it and he has always refused to talk about it!"

"But he hasn't denied it either! And... and he wouldn't refuse to talk to me right now if..."

"Well, if he really feels something for you, he must have been really hurt by your reaction. Maybe, now, he doesn't want you to realize what he really feels."

"I-I... Then why he kissed me at the party in the first place? I mean, why not talk to me, instead? Maybe in some... more reserved circumstances, as to say?"

"This... I couldn't find an answer, I'm sorry." She looked deeply in his eyes. "But you've got to admit that it's a distinct possibility."

_'If that's the case... I've been a real dick to him, worrying about what people could think while he was probably suffering...'_

"You... you must have thought a lot about this, Kai..."

"Yeah" admitted the red-haired girl "I didn't thought about it at the beginning, I'm just starting to realize it, it's... it's something in the way he looks at you, I think." Sora was lost in thought.

And then Kairi hugged him. A friendly hug, sister-like, though Sora felt a little uneasy.

"You're special, Sora! I know what you're thinking; everyone would have first worried about the awkwardness of the situation or, worse, would have been disgusted. But you, you don't! Your first concern is how your friend feels. You're worried to have hurt him, not to have been hurt."

None of them said a lot more after that. They drank a coffee together in a comfortable silence and then they returned to their respective rooms. Sora was greeted by Roxas' smile and that made him feel a little better. Still, he couldn't help but keep thinking at the last question that Kairi had asked him before parting ways.

"And you, Sora, what do you feel for Riku?"

* * *

**End Notes: **Wow, first chapter of the 2013! I've changed it a little from what it was originally, but I'm satisfied with the result. And I hope you're too. As usual, thank you to all the reviewers/followers/beta-reder for the support, especially to FullOfSugar who left a really detailed review (or at least a very long one :). Oh, and if someone is wondering why the Chapter Notes are in italian, I can only answer: "Why not?"


	17. Chapter 17: Guardian Soul

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **A friend in need is a friend indeed.

* * *

**Chapter 17: Guardian Soul**

_Friday_

The next two days went quite smoothly; aside from getting a new cellphone, Sora was starting to learn how to ignore the wicked words directed at him and, most importantly, how to dodge the people who couldn't find satisfying enough to simply insult him: on Wednesday some boys had nearly managed to beat him up in the bathroom until the physiological necessities of a professor had forced them to postpone the act (and Sora had been quick enough to disappear). On Thursday, though, he crossed paths with Larxene who, apparently, was in need to take it out on someone and, unluckily, that someone happened to be Sora. Nothing violent at least, just some caustic remarks on how much more feminine than her the brunet was and, after Sora's decision to not dignify that sentence with an answer, some advices on where to put his sky-boy attitude; the brunet couldn't help but think at the idea of spending the weekend with her. Yes, because in the end he had decided to accept the invitation of the seniors. Or more precisely Roxas had, the moment his brother had mentioned it. _'Typical of Roxas.'_ thought Sora, who knew how well the words "Roxas" and "wild party" mixed together...

But aside from that, there was something that was consuming him. Riku's words had kept echoing in his mind from the moment he had heard them. '_I don't want to see Sora!' _And they were torturing him. He couldn't remember to not have talked to Riku for more than one day, they had always been together since childhood. It was different from when his brother didn't want to see him, that was painful. Not seeing Riku was... struggling. And he felt bad. Really bad.

And now he was standing in front of twenty students who were looking at him, including that certain silver-haired boy with piercing teal eyes fixed on him. He shivered.

"I'm an old man, Sora. While my scientific mind could consider death a certainly interesting experience, I'd prefer not to discover it here waiting for you to give me an answer." The voice of prof. Vexen made Sora shiver even more. He looked once more at the chemical formulas on the blackboard and started to write some numbers. He could feel Riku's gaze on him even if he was facing the blackboard, and that made him really difficult to focus. _'He's looking at me, I know it! What can I do? Should I tell him? Yes, I should, but how could I bring out the matter? Riku, I know you like girls, but I was wondering...'_

"Focus, boy! Look at what you're doing! It's an interrogation of Chemistry, not ancient Egyptian!"

Sora snapped out of it and looked at his markings on the blackboard: aside from having become more and more undecipherable they had also started to cover prof. Vexen's formulas. But despite this he was sure that, aside from the form, he was doing good, so after rereading all of his hieroglyphics he traced the last numbers and gave the hopefully right answer to the professor.

"Yes, it's the right answer." confirmed the old professor much to Sora's relief. "30 minutes is a little too much time for a simple answer on an acid-basic reaction, though. Never mind. You're showing some improvement, at least, even if your natural talents do fall woefully short of my own."

Yeah, whatever. That old coot just could never be satisfied but at least he was off the hook. The brunet slowly regained his place, between Kairi and Riku; yeah, maybe it would've been better to sit in another place, but he didn't want to give prof. Vexen any clue about what was going on with his friends, at least not after their last talk.

He sat giving just a casual glimpse to the boy on his right. It looked like Riku hadn't even noticed that Sora had sat next to him that day, the only moment the older boy had looked at his younger friend had been when the professor had dragged him on the blackboard for the interrogation. Class was nearly over, anyway, and Sora knew that he wouldn't have had another occasion to talk to Riku before the next Monday.

"Hey, Riku." muttered the brunet while prof. Vexen was resuming his endless blabbing.

"What?" coldly answered Riku while keeping his eyes on the professor as if aldehydes and ketones were the most interesting things in the world.

"Oh... it's nothing, I was just wondering..." tried timidly Sora.

"If you need something just tell me, if not, please, leave me alone!" Riku's harsh tone of voice made the brunet realize that he wouldn't have been of any use to keep trying to talk to him. The idea of having lost his friend for good was now more tangible than ever and made him gasp. Unable to articulate another single word, he simply witnessed his friend leave the class without even looking at him or Kairi.

"He... he just went away!" She was clearly hurt by his behavior.

"Y-yeah..." managed to answer Sora.

"I... I have to reach my locker. We'll meet at the cafeteria with the others, ok?"

"Y-yes. Later..." The brunet was fixing the blackboard without really seeing it. He didn't know how much he stayed in that position, as the class was already empty when prof. Vexen asked him if he was alright. He forced himself to look fine and he hurried out of the room. Unfortunately, he could do only a few meters before crashing on a certain trio.

"Well, well, if it isn't the little faggot who has managed to escape me all the week..." Sora had just the time to acknowledge the situation before Rai grabbed him from the back, his arms so close on Sora that the brunet could barely breath and surely not escape. Seifer looked at him, a clear expression of disgust painted on his face. And a bandage on his nose. "You've got a bruised eye from our last encounter, I see." started the blond chuckling "You should put some makeup on it, I'd found it fitting on you!" The three of them bursted into laughs.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Seifer, but you're not my type! Which is to say you're a narcissistic bloated idiot!" The words were already out before Sora could catch them. Seifer stopped immediately to laugh, followed by the others two after he glared at them.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that or I'll make you eat your teeth!"

"Don't worry." continued the still trapped boy "I'm too afraid to pick a fight with someone who needs two other guys to beat up a scrawny sophomore!" He knew he had to stop answering Seifer or he wouldn't have gotten out of there alive, but he just couldn't restrain himself. It was like if all of the suffering he had endured the last week was coming out.

"Shut up, you little..."

"Or what? You'd beat me up again? Go on then! If messing up my face will make you feel better, then go on! Oh, and you want an advice? Go find a girlfriend, Seifer!"

Seifer was livid, but he didn't dare to say anything else. Instead he raised his arm and looked viciously at the brunet. Sora was ready to receive the hit, after all he felt so bad about what had happened with Riku that he doubted physical pain could harm him. And then he heard a familiar voice.

"Haven't I already told you to leave him alone?"

Sora couldn't believe his eyes: Riku was standing behind Seifer, arms crossed on his chest and menacing look on his face. His jaw dropped: he was really defending him? After what he had just said?

"Oh! Look who has come to rescue his boyfriend." Seifer turned to look at the silver-haired boy. "You should thank me: giving to the both of you a black eye I-"

But he couldn't end his sentence because Riku was already on him. Or more precisely his fist was already on his jaw. Rai, surprised, loosed his grip on Sora who profited of the moment to break free from his grab. Unlike the last time, though, Seifer and his gang didn't seem willing to retreat, and the consequent fight was interrupted only when prof. Vexen, that was still around, arrived attracted by the noises of the five students' brawl.

* * *

"I find amazing how fate likes to tease us: it's the second time, only this week, that you're caught in a fight and, by your words, in both case you were not responsible for them." Sora gulped; he knew that he was now seriously at risk of being expelled from the school. Headmaster Xemnas moved his look from him to the other four students present in his office: aside from Riku, no one of them was directly looking at him. The principal picked three dossiers from the five that were on his desk and started reading them.

"Seifer, Rai and Fuu." At the hearing of their names, the two boys and the girl winced a little, nearly simultaneously. "We've met three times since your arrival in my school, and in all three cases you were together. In all three cases you covered each other and in all three cases you managed to get away scot-free. Not today, I'm afraid." Sora noticed that Seifer, who was sat just next to him, was slightly trembling; he started to wonder if there was someone, student or professor, who was not scared by that man. He took a fourth dossier.

"Riku." started after a moment "As I can see, you're quite a discreet boy. We've met only once, with our dear Sora if memory doesn't fail me." Sora winced. _'"Dear Sora"? What was that supposed to mean?' _"I see that you keep deviating his young little mind from the right path." _'Wait-wait-wait a sec! What was this?!'_ "There is something you'd like to add, Seifer?" added headmaster Xemnas at the senior's nearly imperceptible snort. The blond boy immediately lost all of the little color he had managed to keep till that moment, making the bruises on his faces all more evident. Sora was more focused on Riku, though: he hadn't said anything to try and justify himself, so the brunet decided to do it in his place.

"But... but I've already told you, sir, that Riku was..."

"You three will receive a disciplinary letter each for aggression." resumed the man in his black coat ignoring once again the brunet's protestations and looking at Seifer, Rai and Fuu. "You will also get detention with the doorkeeper this afternoon. If that's all clear you can go and reach him." The three guys looked at each other and nodded slightly, quickly leaving and getting out of that office as soon as possible, leaving Sora and Riku alone with the headmaster who promptly turned his attention to the brunet. "You're dismissed too, Sora. You're acquitted from the accusations." Well, that was surprising. He had to go out, then? He had to let his friend alone?

He tried to buy some time, but the headmaster had his cold yellow eyes so reminiscent of those of his son fixed on him and he clearly had no intention to speak with Riku while Sora was in the same room. The brunet gave a quick look at his friend that, surprisingly, looked back at him for a moment. He then exited the office.

When Riku finally got free, he found his best friend waiting for him just outside. His beautiful face was now bearing some scratches from the recent fight and his left eye was more dark than ever, but it weren't those signs or the blood on his shirt that scared Sora the most, it was his paleness. And Sora was sure to have never seen before that kind of expression on his face. The silver-haired boy, realizing that Sora was there waiting for him, lifted his eyes and looked at him.

"I'm sorry, Sora."

* * *

**End Notes: **Uh, I know I'm late on this update but today I've had my first exam. I should study now, but considering that in my actual condition I can barely tell the difference between my notes and a phone book, I think it's better to take a day off. And update my story, hope you've liked this chapter. Oh, and for the (few) people actually following it, don't worry if I don't get many reviews, I've already all the story in mind and I will (hopefully) keep uploading it no matter what, so let some (appreciated) words if you feel like doing it but no need to do it thinking that if you don't I won't update anymore (a_ny resemblance to anonymous reviewers, living or dead, is purely coincidental)_.


	18. Chapter 18: Sweet Memories

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **Love is blind; friendship closes its eyes

* * *

**Chapter 18: Sweet Memories**

_Friday_

Sora looked at the peaceful sea while the sun of the early afternoon, still hot enough, was warming him pleasantly. For the first time in the last few days he felt completely relaxed; that bunch of rocks that was now surrounding him had always made him feel protected, like if it could shield him from the rest of the world. Still, the huge rock he was sitting on was a little cold, so he descended from it and sat on the golden warm sand while putting his cold hands in his pockets. He was a little surprised when he found in his right one a picture enveloped by a piece of paper: "Apologize to Roxas", "Explain the situation to Kairi and the others" and "Clear up things with Riku", those were the only words written on it. He put it back in his pocket and looked at the picture, a little crumpled but overall fine, from when all of his closest friends were smiling at him.

"Never known you to be so sentimental."

A startled Sora instinctively put the picture back in his pocket and looked at his silver-haired friend who had finally reached him. "Mpfh. You're late!"

"I've taken something to eat, it's already past 1 o' clock." answered Riku throwing a sandwich at the younger boy. "Nobody ever told you that you're cute when you pretend to be angry?" teased then while sitting next to his embarrassed friend. Sora was sure to heard a little voice starting to speak in his head.

_'Ask him!'_

"Yeah, uhm, so... how are you doing?"

"Our place... Do you remember the day we discovered it?" asked Riku looking at the horizon and ignoring Sora's question.

"Uh? Yeah, how could I forget it? It was my first day in high school." answered the brunet a little surprised at the question.

_'Stop stalling, do it!'_

"Right, and you didn't want to cross the rocks because you were afraid to fall into the water." Sora remembered too much well the first time they had crossed the slippery rocks that were the only way to that, at the time, still unknown secret place. It wasn't really hidden, but the difficult way to reach it had made it a nearly unexplored spot, the perfect place to hide away when you need to detach from everything.

_'You want to know what he feels for you!'_

The brunet turned his head to look directly at his friend. "That's enough, Riku! What's going on?"

He could see the eyes of his friend narrowing, and still his expression didn't change. "What do you mean by that?"

"You know what I mean!" said Sora settled on clarifying everything. Or at least the most. "First you don't want to see me, then you stand up for me against Seifer and his gang and now you're suddenly all friendly and sweet-talking and... and... just like the last week never happened. What gives, Riku?"

Riku smirked, slightly irritating his friend. "If I'm not wrong it's you that didn't let me go after our meeting with Xemnas."

"You came out and just told me 'I am sorry'!" promptly answered the brunet more determined than ever. "And then you refused to say anything else, you would have gone away if I wouldn't have stopped you."

"And that's the reason why I told you to meet me at this spot. In that school even walls have ears."

Sora calmed down a little. He even smiled a little. "Oh, I thought you were the one who didn't care about what people think..."

"I don't. I care about what knows the headmaster." Sora's little smile disappeared.

"You're afraid of that old loon? I mean, that guy is freaking scary, but I can't remember to have ever seen you afraid of someone."

Riku stopped eating his sandwich and looked sadly at the sea. "Yeah, well, I suppose you have to be when they threaten someone close to you."

Sora's jaw nearly fell to the ground. '_What-was-that?'_

"Yes, Sora." continued Riku. "I'm talking about you. The headmaster used a refined circumlocution to tell me that if I don't stay away from you he will expel you from the school."

Foul language: the most appropriate definition of Sora's mind in that precise moment: that was too far, even for that crazy bastard. Then he focused on his priorities and chilled down. He made a mental note to later return on the argument, though.

"I'm so sorry, Riku. I didn't mean to treat you the way I did, I..."

"Oh, quit your whining. We're boys, we don't need excuses. It's one of those things that keep us apart from the girls, like baseball, arm-wrestling or burping challenges..."

Sora made a grimace, amused. "You're gross."

"Stop being such a girl."

"At least I don't discuss with other girls about romance novels."

"It's a refined tactic to know them better."

"Suuure is, Rikky."

"Don't call me that!" Sora knew he had struck a nerve there: his friend hated that nickname since some crazy girl they had known the first year of high school had given it to him. Together with a ton of affection manifested through some embarrassing ways that, Sora was sure, Riku didn't want to remember. In short, he hated being called that way, old memories resurfacing...

"Or else?" Sora got up: he wanted to be sure to be at a safe distance before keep on teasing the other boy. He then assumed a melodramatic attitude. "You can't harm me, or evil Xemnas will get angry."

"Enough. I think it's time for little Sora to learn his place." answered quietly Riku slowly getting up too. Slowly till the moment he was standing in front of Sora, because in the two following seconds, Sora had barely the time to realize that the silver-haired boy had sprinted in his direction and that he was now eating sand, kept on the ground by Riku who was literally on him and was keeping his right arm painfully twisted behind his back.

"C'mon, Sora, I thought you were stronger than that."

"Ouch, Riku, it hurts!"

"Aw, poor little Sora." He apparently had no intention to let go of his friend so quickly. "Just say 'I will never call you that way, master Riku!' and I'll let you go!"

"I will never call you that way, let me go now!"

"...'Master Riku'"

"Master Rikk- ouch, I was kidding! Riku, Riku, let me go, now!"

Riku let the arm go. When Sora was able to turn and look at his friend he immediately noticed that he was giggling.

"Wipe that smile from your face! It wasn't amusing!" lied the brunet hiding the fact that he was enjoying to have hopefully gotten back to good terms with Riku.

"Have I ever told you that you're cute when you pretend to be angry?"

"Not in the last ten seconds."

"Well, I should have had."

_'Ok, it is now or never!' _

"Riku." The serious tone in Sora's voice had the effect to immediately make Riku stop smiling.

"I'm serious, now. I know it's a little... uhm... strange question but... our... what happened the evening of the party..." He breathed deeply. "That... it was only a joke, right?"

The older boy was looking at Sora in such an intense way that made him gulped. "You've talked with Kairi, right?"

"Wha- No, no, I mean..."  
"It's fine, calm down. I and Kairi have had... a discussion, as to say, Wednesday. I shouldn't have yelled at her the way I did." Well, that was new. Riku showing remorse for something he had done. Even better: the perfect Riku plainly admitting he had done something wrong.

"But, you see, I had things on my minds and I was a little upset when she talked to me."

"I can sympathize. Seifer did that to you, right?" asked Sora indicating the black eye of his friend.

"Yes, that idiot. And only because I politely asked him why he aggressed you." His friend looked at him skeptical "With my fist." added Riku "Looks like he has some kind of fetish for eyes, don't you think?" asked then touching Sora's nearly healed, yet still bruised eye and making him fall on his butt.

"You really are a girl!"

"Shut up, it still hurts!"

"Well, if that's of some consolation I broke his nose. Again." He reached the younger boy and sat too on the hot sand.

"Yes, I've remarked it." laughed Sora. "So I suppose I have to thank you. But how did you knew..."

"Demyx told me the same day it happened. He had heard it from Axel apparently." His face suddenly clouded over. "I didn't know you two were so close." It was Sora's impression or there was a shade of resentment in his voice?

"Me neither." quickly answered. "But the seniors have been really friendly to me as of lately." The image of Larxene insulting him popped out somewhere in his mind. "Well, the majority of them. They have even invited me and Rox to some kind of party this weekend." Riku gave a jump at that.

"They... what? Where? With who?"

"Uh? I-I don't know, they just told us that they would have brought us somewhere partying and that it would have been worth it, what's the matter, Riku?"

"...it's nothing." Sometimes Sora couldn't really understand his best friend. He was staring again at the peaceful sea with who-knows what kind of thoughts on his mind. And Sora was staring at him wondering what he had done wrong this time.

Without detaching his eyes from the sea, Riku spoke again, back to his usual calm tone. "Will you stop staring at me? Someone could get a wrong idea about us. Namely me." But Sora was sure to have figured out what was troubling his friend.

"You know, Riku, if you really want to come, why don't you simply ask it?"

From the way the junior student reacted, Sora had the confirmation that he had struck the right note. And knowing him the way he did, he was also sure of the answer that arrived three point five seconds later. "No, thanks. I've got other things to do." Of course, his overdeveloped pride didn't let him accept what he viewed as charity.

"Oh, please. Do it for me. Aside from Rox I won't know anybody, I'd really liked to have my best friend with me. It will be fun." He stopped when he realized that he didn't even know what he was talking about. "I think." He paused for another moment. "I hope. Anyway we'll be together, so we'll be fine, we have some catch-up to do, right?" Game, set and match: Sora knew that he had played it perfectly, so when Riku muttered a "If it is to do you a favor..." he simply smiled at him, happily that, for once, he had got it right.

* * *

"You know, there's a thing that still bugs me..." asked Sora on the way back to the school.

"Mmmh?"

"You were the first to leave the chemistry class, this morning. How come that you were still around when Seifer and his gang aggressed me?"

Riku smiled a little. "Do you really think that after what had happened Sunday I wouldn't have watched your back? After all, in a kind of way, I was the one who put you in this situation..."

Sora's eyes widened as he stopped walking. "So... you're saying you were following me all the week? Like following me in a creepy-stalker way?"

"I liked it better the way I said it, though. See you later, Sora, 5 o'clock on the main door, right?"

And with those words Riku left the brunet mouth-opened at the entrance of the dormitory. Once he had disappeared, Sora realized that his friend had just skillfully avoided the main question he had asked him.

"Clever, Riku. Really clever."

* * *

**End Notes: **So... I'm sorry for being late with my last two updates (I'd like to say that I have a life, but I'm actually having exams...). From the next week I should be back to my schedule and update a new chapter every Friday though (and hopefully also something more but I won't say anything else...). And to answer to "Matty", the story isn't clearly finished (this chapter should prove it) but still thanks for reviewing :). Thank you all "classic" and "new" reviewers, it's actually rewarding to know that someone appreciate your efforts to tell a good story. Or at least an acceptable one ;).


	19. Chapter 19: Hyperdrive

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Extra Notes: **Guess what? I've ended my exams! So, to celebrate, a double chapter. Dedicated to FullOfSugar to thank her for THE story.

**Chapter Notes: **If you travel with lies you will reach your destination but you might be unable to retrace your steps

* * *

**Chapter 19: Hyperdrive**

_Friday_

"I don't think they'll be happy with that."

The sun was already setting down behind the horizon, spreading a reddish tint on a couple of boys pinned against the gate of the old school. Sora found that color fitting on his brother.

"You worry too much. We'll simply ask them, if they won't be ok with this they'll simply told us that Riku can't come, right?" Everybody knew that Roxas had never liked Riku too much, even if they knew each other since childhood; the recent events had more than probably even harshened his feelings towards him.

"Hey, Riku!" exclaimed Sora waving a hand when he saw a silver-haired figure coming in their direction. "Over here!"

"Stop squeaking like a girl! Seriously, I'm the one who is supposed to be the sissy one." Sora totally ignored the remark, focused as he was on remarking how much his brother had started to joke around his sexuality in just a couple of day from his confession. Well, when there was no one else around at least, seen that after indirectly experiencing what had happened to his brother, Roxas didn't have the slightest intention to come out.

"What are you smiling at, Sora?" asked a sincerely curious Riku interrupting the flow of his thoughts (that for once weren't focused on him). "Hi, Rox." added then, at which Roxas nodded with the head.

"Uh? Oh, nothing worth of mention, I suppose. But, hey, I'm happy that we'll spend some days together." He was so used to it that Sora could mentally see Roxas rolling his eyes. Nobody had the time to add anything else because a too much loud to be legal car horn made all the three of them jump. It apparently belonged to a sport car whose bright red color contrasted vividly with the blue hairs of the serious-looking guy driving it. Next to him on the sidewalk a more matching red-haired boy, cigarette in hand and smile on face, was talking to Riku's musician schoolmate.

"Hey, kiddo. Nice to see you." Sora was sure that Axel was talking to him but he wondered what was looking at behind him, because when he turned he saw only Riku and Roxas.

"Riku? You're coming too? Totally way cool!" From the little he knew it, Sora had always thought that Tidus' brother suffered from hyperactivity. Seeing him gesticulate that way towards them only confirmed his suspects.

"What's this story? It was an invitation exclusive to you and your brother!" Sora and Riku clearly didn't know what to say. Roxas did, actually "Told ya, bro..."

"Aw, relax Saïx. There will still be place in Larx's car and you know how they say, don't you?"

"Better alone than in bad company?" Well, that was surprising: Saïx was able of irony. If it was being ironic, anyway.

"The more, the merrier! Don't worry about what Saïx says, Riku. You're coming with us and it will be fun." said an overjoyed Demyx jumping around.

"I suppose you're in, then." concluded Saïx without even bothering to exit the car: it was plain that he didn't like too much the idea of Riku coming with them. Sora thought that he could have become best friend with his brother. By the time Demyx had reached the three boys to properly greet them, Axel had started talking again.

"Oh-my-oh-my. Looks like Larx has taken it again..." And a burst of laughter erupted from all the three older boys. Yes, because even Saïx couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the little PINK car that the most aggressive girl in the school was driving. Zexion on his side was reading a book as his usual.

"Ok" started the blond girl when he stopped next to the six boys "The first one to do another stupid comment on my mom's car, and I stress it, my MOM's car..."

"Nice to see you too, Larx. And relax, I was talking about Zexion..."

"Hey, Zex." added Saïx.

"Always an honor to enjoy your company." answered Zexion without stopping to read his book.

"So..." Larxene started to peer at Sora, Roxas and Riku. "These are the boys we'll have to babysit all the weekend?"

"Hey, Riku is my age!" exclaimed an offended Demyx who was still amongst the other three young boys.

"Indeed. I think Larx was including you too." At Saïx's comment and Demyx's pout, Sora and Roxas let go a smile and relaxed a little. Riku, on the other side, looked a little annoyed by that show.

"Afraid to interrupt this charming moment, but we're already late and Tierra de Partida is quite far from here."

"Tierra de Partida? That Tierra de Partida?" asked Riku clearly surprised.

Axel glared at Zexion. "Thanks for spoiling the surprise, Zexion." added Saïx.

"Uh, what's so special about this place?" asked a confused Sora.

"What's so special? It's one of the most exclusive place you'll ever find, bro. Awesome sceneries, clear waters, all those things people like, you know... Well, at least that's what I've heard."

Riku started to move towards Saïx bearing a clearly defying attitude. "It's also incredibly expensive to take a room there, are you sure we can afford to..."

"First: we won't go into a 'room' but to a chalet." A defying glare appeared on Saïx's face. "Second: it's all free because an old friend of us invited US there" he payed particular attention at stressing carefully those two letters "and third: watch your tone with me, silver boy."

"I'm starting to like this guy." whispered Roxas to his brother.

* * *

"Move that foot from there!"

"That was a little too much on that poor Riku, Saïx. I mean, that was totally uncalled for." answered Axel moving his foot from the gear level and adding it to the other on the dashboard of the car. He then turned his head towards the back seats. "Don't you think it too, kiddo?"

"Uh..." Sora didn't really know what to answer; luckily Riku had gone with Larxene, Demyx and Zexion on the other car, but that didn't change the fact that he was feeling a bit uncomfortable at criticizing the guy who had invited him.

"You were totally right! Sometimes Riku is just insufferable."

"Hey, if blondie here says so it must be true." Axel supported his sentence with a great smile towards Roxas.

"He's... he's not right!" Saïx budget a little as to answer something, but when nothing came out Sora continued "Maybe sometimes he can give the wrong impression but it's a caring person and..."

"Yeah, like when he kissed you at the party?" The buzz of a fly echoed into the car. Axel coughed a little.

"...I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." The blue-haired boy looked sincerely sorry "What I wanted to say is..."

"...is that you need to let loose and relax without worrying about anything." ended Axel putting his hands behind his head and letting himself go on the seat. "Because..." he paused for a moment and looked at Saïx "where we are going, you can!"

"Uh? What do you mean by..." Roxas was interrupted mid-sentence by a phone ringing.

"Hello, the Flurry of Dancing Flames here, if you're sexy and between 16 and 60 speak freely." Saïx put a hand on his eyes, worrying a little the two brothers considering that he was driving. _'60?'._ Some screams were audible from the other side of the phone. "Sheesh, no need to use such big words, Larx."

"So, Saïx, what's so special about your friend's house?" asked Sora ignoring the redhead on the phone.

"Our friend Terra, the owner of the chalet, will give a great party tomorrow evening, it does so three or four times a year. People from all over will come, really interesting people usually. And there's a rule you'll have to follow there: what happens in there, stays in there." He stopped talking and looked at Axel who was closing the communication. "Uh, he won't be happy to hear this. Thanks, Zex."

"I thought you were talking to Larxene" asked Roxas.

"Uh? Oh no, she was just screaming in the phone." He then turned on the driver "Guess what, Saïx?" Saïx looked in the direction of the redhead inquiringly.

"Zexion called Terra to tell him that we are one more..."

"Yeah, so?"

Axel started to play with his phone. "Let's see how I can put it... who is the person that you have the least pleasure to..."

"Oh, no! Please! Don't tell me that my cousin will come too!"  
"That's what he told him." said Axel with a smirk.

"Uhm, is that a problem?" timidly asked Sora.

"Say that my cousin is a problem would be as appropriate as compare the Niagara falls to a shower."

"He's a chronic troublemaker, nothing more, nothing less." precised Axel.

Roxas gave a knowing look at his brother "Yeah, well, I thought you all were..."

"No-no. This is a completely different thing."

"We joke. We amuse ourself and all the people around us." And to think that Axel had managed to look nearly serious till that moment "Granted, sometimes someone, not necessarily one of us, gets in trouble and all, but, hey, that's all part of the game."

"My cousin is different: he... just watch out to never get on his bad side, you'll regret it." And with that sentence Saïx let the two brothers wondering if this mysterious guy could really be worse than his cousin...

"Uhm, so what was that story about 'what happens in there, stays in there', then?"

Axel and Saïx exchanged a conspiratorial look. "Well, they are going to discover it there, anyway, care to do the honors, Lea?"

"Of course, dear Isa." Axel cleared his throat and made a 180° loop on his seat to better look at the boys. "You use to know us as the chronic troublemakers of the school or whatever-shit-I-don't-care-about people stick on us. At Terra's we're known as parts of flowering plants that derives from specific tissues of the flower."

"Fruits." added Saïx with a smirk at the same idiotic expression painted on the face of both boys who didn't change the slightest after the revelation.

"You..." finally articulated Sora some seconds later, Axel still staring at them grinning.

"All of us."

"How..." blabbered Roxas.

"Come on! You really thought to be the only homos in our school? We just don't like to show it to everyone like kiddo and his friend. Blondie here is a lot more discreet..." Axel was surely enjoying every second of that situation. Sora, on the other side, was shocked. Not half as much as his brother, though.

"How..." It looked like Roxas was on the verge of a panic attack. "How... do... you... know..." finally murmured.

"About you?" Axel smirked. "You owe me one, blondie. What do you think kept your 'friends' from blabbing your secret to everyone?"

Saïx turned a moment to look at his friend. "Don't." he simply said.

Roxas opened his mouth but said nothing. "It was you?" asked Sora in his stead that, while still surprised, wasn't as shocked as his brother.

The light in Axel's eyes scared Sora a little. "Let's just say that everyone has something to hide. Or to be blackmailed with. Same thing in the end. That's also how I first noted your pretty face, blondie..."

Judging from the expression on his face, that was now the same color as Axel's hair, Sora was now sure that his brother was completely panicking. "It doesn't make any sense!" he finally exploded. He screamed so strong that Axel jumped on his place. Saïx was clearly not really pleased about that reaction. "You didn't know me" he continued "Yet you helped me! You didn't know what had happened, yet you arrived at the right place at the right moment! You probably didn't even knew my 'friends', yet you conveniently had something to "blackmail" them with! What's going on?" For the whole time Axel kept his eyes on him, his trademark grin always on his face.

"You..." started again the blond boy slightly lowering his tone "You just invited us because we..." he looked a moment at Sora "Because I'm..."

"Yes that's part of it." simply answers Axel.

"I'd told you not to tell them about it, Lea."

"And what about the names? What's going on?" Roxas was still out of control and Saïx was getting nervous at his behavior.

"We won't discuss about it anymore. It doesn't matter how Lea discovered it, just be thankful that he did." shut them out Saïx "And it doesn't matter why we've invited you there, it's not some kind of gay party or whatever strange thing you are probably imagining, so just relax, it will be worth it anyway. As for our names, a lot of people prefer to adopt a surname at Terra's, it's not mandatory but you can do it too. And if you're too slow to have not noticed it, we simply took out the 'Xs' and rearranged our names. So remember: when we'll be there, no more Saïx, Axel, Zexion, Demyx and Larxene. That will be Isa, Lea, Ienzo, Dyme and Arlene."

_'Surnames? Where the hell are we going?'_ thought Sora who was enumerating the reasons to start worrying.

"Well, blondie can't do it. Or we should call him 'Sora'." concluded Axel.

* * *

The sun was already down when they finally reached their destination. Despite the not-so-great beginning of their journey the rest of the travel went quite well. Axel was actually funny, while Saïx, while surely not the most loquacious guy on Earth, could be quite entertaining with his unsuspected sharp wit. Sora decided that for the time being the better thing was not to clarify the misunderstanding about his sexuality and to let the seniors assume whatever they wanted to believe. He was used to it, anyway, and they clearly said that THAT didn't matter; he would have clarified that later. Or maybe at the end of the weekend. He looked out of the car window; he had to admit it, the scenery was breathtaking as his brother had said: they were running on an old mule-track in the middle of a pinewood. Very suggestive, even if wherever this Terra guy lived had to be pretty isolated. And that made Sora's worries resurfacing again. On the other side, Roxas had calmed down and he looked to feel quite comfortable at talking about those things that he probably couldn't afford to share until that moment with Axel, who was revealing to be more sensitive than what Sora had first thought he could have ever been.

"Hey, Sora, you ok?" The voice of Saïx made him realize that he was spacing out again.

"Uh, can I ask you something, Sa... I mean, Isa?"

"Sure."

"Are you and Axel... I mean... are you... together?" He felt like an idiot after asking it but he could not taking it back at that moment. Axel turned his attention on the brunet and Roxas looked at him with an expression that was screaming "Tactless brother!"

Saïx and Axel smirked then the redhead simply answered. "We were."

After some seconds during which apparently none could find something intelligent to say, Axel decided to talk again. "Dyme and Ienzo are, actually. I also think his brother knows about it."

"Tidus knows his brother is gay?" Sora was surprised, but he started to understand how that blond pest could have been so comprehensive with him during that infernal week.

"As for Arlene..." continued Saïx "Well, I think stereotypes on lesbians exist because of her. And that's Terra's chalet by the way."

"You call this a chalet?" asked the blond boy while he and Sora looked astonished at the wood-made building that had just appeared on the horizon "It's more like a mansion!"

As they were getting closer the pines were getting more and more scarcer, until they finally popped up in a glade coasting a little lake. The grass on the ground was so green that looked nearly unnatural, while the sky, finally no more hidden by the conifers surrounding them, was painting all in a purple surreal light. And just on the lake, the biggest house Sora had ever seen in all of his life. "Your friend really lives here?"

"Sometimes. He generally use this one for the summer. Hey, that's Dilan's car, isn't it, Isa?"

* * *

Sora stretched his legs, numbed by the trip that should have lasted at least a couple of hours. "This is great, Sora. I was right at wanting to come, wasn't I?" smirked Roxas looking around him and approaching his brother.

"Yeah, I guess. Still there's something that bugs me even if I can't really understand what..." The brunet looked at Larxene's little pink car parking just between Saïx's and another car (that looked expensive enough to belong to the owner of the chalet). There were two other vehicles, though, one of them the one belonging to that Dilan guy.

"Well, well, Isa. Looks like your cousin is already here..." said Axel pointing at the remaining car that Sora was looking at.

"Great" answered ironically the blue-haired boy "I had hoped he would come only tomorrow. Or that he wouldn't come at all."

"So, how was the trip, guys?" A totally relaxed Riku popped up behind the two brothers nearly scaring them.

"Uh, surely instructive." muttered Sora now more curious than ever to know the mysterious cousin. He looked at Larxene, Zexion and Demyx that were coming towards them.

"Hey, Lea, how can Lar... I mean, Arlene being a... uhm... well, a lesbian if she finds so amusing to make a fool out of me?" asked the brunet while she, Demix and Zexion were reaching them.

"About your sexuality, I suppose..." The redhead turned his head towards the blond girl "Hey, old hag! You scared kiddo here with your bad manners, you know?" At Sora's attempt to shut him up by making an unnaturally high-pitched sound, Larxene started to laugh maniacally.

"Ah! I can't help until he keeps doing this kind of sounds. And you, Lea, since when have you elected yourself as defender of lost causes? Man, you're so... girly!"

"You see?" asked Axel to Sora whose face was now a deep shade of red. "She's just like that with anyone, she has nothing against you. You want her respect? Just show her you're not afraid of her. Show some balls, got it memorized?"

"Uhm... yeah, thanks." As they were walking to the door of the chalet, though, Sora couldn't help but ask to Riku how could have been the travel with her, at which the silver-haired boy simply answered: "Be happy that you were in the other car"

Sora felt a little uneasy when they ringed the bell and thought that Roxas should have felt the same, even if he was better than him at hiding it; Riku looked perfectly fine, though. As usual. But when the door opened he instantly dropped his self-confidence. The brunet wondered why.

"Hi 'cuz. Always a pleasure to see you." said a voice that Sora couldn't understand if it was ironic or not, so he looked from behind Zexion's shoulder.

And that was the dreaded Saïx's cousin?! From what the two seniors had told him he had expected someone scary and intimidating... or bigger at least. Instead he saw a boy who was pretty much as tall as he was. Heck, he actually looked quite similar to him, if not for the same yellow eyes as Saïx, the less spikier pitch-black hair and the more muscular build. Pretty hot guy, actually. If he was interested in boys, of course.

"Hi." coldly answered Saïx "I'd say the same thing, but it would be a lie, Vanitas."

* * *

**End Notes: **Did I mention that I've ended my exams? A chapter this long is a real pain but it's also a pleasure to write. Guess what? I've opened a poll to choose on which pairing basing my next story, if you have a spare minute let me know your opinion (for those who doesn't know it, you can access it from my profile). Two weeks vacations, I can't believe it! Reviews are always appreciated. Oh, and thanks to X-Blade025 for the kind words :) (too bad you can't thank the guests...)


	20. Chapter 20: Earthshaker

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

******Chapter Notes: **Trust few, but of all beware.

* * *

**Chapter 20: Earthshaker**

_Fryday_

"Would you like something else to drink, guys?" asked Terra's blue-haired girlfriend.

"Thanks but no, thanks, Aqua. The dinner was delicious as usual, though." Even if he hadn't been properly introduced to him, Sora guessed that that had to be the Dilan guy: a tall guy, probably around the seniors age or maybe a little older than them, with huge sideburns, long dreadlocks and some very suggestive violet eyes. He wondered if Dilan was his real name or if he was using a nickname too.

"I'd like some more wine if I can."

"Of course blondie, you can do whatever you want here, right Terra?"

The tall young man looked at Roxas smiling quietly. "Absolutely" he started in a calm and collected voice. The brunet moved his look to see all the people sat on the huge round table, that happened to be in order Roxas, Axel, Larxene, Demix, Zexion, Saïx, Dilan, Aqua, Terra, Vanitas, Riku and finally himself. He remarked how, despite being place for at least six more people on that table, they were all squished against each other, especially some of them, namely Terra to his girlfriend (but that was understandable), Axel to his brother (who hadn't left him alone for a moment all the evening) and, most surprisingly at all, Saïx's cousin to Riku, who were talking together like they were old friends.

"I don't know what my friends could have told you, but knowing them the way I do, I'm pretty sure that they must have scared you one way or the other." Sora and Roxas looked at each other smiling, then they both looked at Riku. "However..." continued Terra "This will be a simple weekend and tomorrow evening there will be a normal party." Sora caught Larxene snicker. "Until tomorrow evening make yourself at home. I'll give you a grand tour of the house later, Van should have already showed you your rooms, right?" Vanitas nodded, slightly smiling. Sora guessed why.

"Why anyone here has a surname?" abruptly asked Riku. Terra turned his attention on him.

"Yeah, the surnames... that's just a silly habit that we've adopted some years ago, you don't want to worry too much about it, right Silver?"

_'Silver? Who the hell is Sil-'_ thought Sora before looking at the hair of his best friend.

"Yeah, take Dilan, for example" said Axel "We all know that his real name is not that but we don't care." all the table turned in the general direction of "Dilan", save for Dilan who looked at the ceiling and murmured something that sounded like "Oh, no. Not again..."

"How are you doing, Liiiinda?" started to sing together Demyx and Larxene.

"That's-not-my-name!"

"Linda-Linda. Oh Liiiinda..." continued the two of them who had now become four with the adding of Axel and, surprisingly enough, even Saïx.

"'Remove a letter from your name and shuffle the remaining ones...' I should've never listened to you..."

"Come on kids, enough fun! Leave our guest alo..." But Terra couldn't end the sentence because a pillow hit him straight in the face.

"Shut up, spoilsport." screamed Zexion. Zexion?! Sora didn't know if it was more surprising that someone had thrown a pillow at Terra in mid-speech or the fact that it had been the so-high-and-mighty Zexion to do it.

"Such foul language, Ienzo." someone exclaimed.

Sora whispered to his brother "Wow, Rox, would you've ever believed to thi..." And another pillow in the face. Sora's one, this time.

"Wow, blondie is one of us!" exclaimed Axel while dodging another pillow from Terra.

Sora looked speechless at the eight guys, his brother included, who were now throwing pillows at each other like seven years-old boys.

"You seem a little bit off, it's all right?"

The brunet jumped at Aqua's words, surprised to not have seen her reach him from behind. "Uh, no, I mean, yes, it's alright, I just would've never thought that those guys could be so..."

"Childish?" asked the blue-haired girl with a huge smile.

"Well... yes." answered Sora with an equal smile. "They are always like this around here?"

"More or less. You know, there's only one rule here: what happens in here..."

"...stays in here, yeah, I've heard of it. So what?"

"You can be yourself in here."

Sora was perplexed. "But... I always am. I am me, nobody else."

The girl looked at him tenderheartedly. "Are you sure of that?" she asked quietly. "You can always do what you feel like doing? You can always say whatever is on your mind?"

Sora dodged a pillow that was coming in his direction, than he looked back at Aqua. "No, I can't." he answered sincerely.

Sora found that her smile was beautiful; it remembered him of Kairi's. "Nobody will judge you in here, that's why you can do whatever you want." she concluded winking and starting clearing the table.

Sora looked around them and saw that the pillow fight had moved to the center of the room: Saïx and Zexion were pinned behind an old sofa by an assault of pillows from Terra and Dilan while Larxene was keeping Axel on the ground by storming him with a quick succession of hits (at least always with a pillow); Roxas and Demyx standing behind them were probably guessing if it was a good idea to try and save the redhead. Any case they were giving the impression to enjoy that childish game. A lot.

"Come on bro! Don't stay there all alone, come here!" Sora heard the voice of his brother echoing in the huge room. He was already halfway through it when his eye fell on the opened window that gave access to the balcony and where Riku was sat. Sora didn't even remember when he had left the table, but he figured it should have been during his talking with Aqua.

"Hey 'Silver'! What are you doing here all alo... oh!" The moment the brunet reached his friend he realized that he wasn't alone at all: hidden by the curtain, he could now see a couple of yellow bright eyes looking at him from under some ruffled pitch-black bangs.

"So, have a good time hanging out with the kiddies?" asked Vanitas with a grin on his face.

After a moment of hesitation, Sora lend his hand to the boy. "Uh... ehm... yeah. Kind of. So you're Sa... Isa's cousin, right? Nice to properly meet you."

"And you're my cousin's new love interest, I suppose." answered Vanitas without shaking Sora's hand.

Both Riku and Sora looked totally surprised by that affirmation. "What? No, no, I..."

"Oh, please! I've seen how he looks at you, don't tell me you're so slow to not have noticed it."

"I... I..." For a moment he got the impression that all the pieces of a puzzle were falling together: he remembered how Saïx was interested to know the details of his relationship with Riku. He remembered how surprised Axel was to discover that what Saïx could have considered a date was organized by the headmaster. And he remembered how Saïx was clearly not happy to see Riku, could that have been... jealousy?!

"Is that true?" The voice of Riku echoed in Sora's mind, shuffling his thoughts some more.

"I... don't think. It... can't be..."

"Oh, don't tell me you act all cuddly towards him for no reason." A clearly amused expression was now painted on Vanitas' face.

"Hey! That's not true! I don't..."

"I think I'll go take something to drink. Do you want something?" asked Riku, quickly walking inside the house with Sora vainly trying to stop him.

"Wait, Riku! It's not like this, I..."

"A bier, thank you." shouted Vanitas totally relaxed on his seat. The brunet, on the other side, was clearly irritated.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked nearly hysterically. "It's not true that I act 'cuddly' towards your cousin!"

"Yes, it's not true. Your point being?"

"My point... I don't want Ri... 'Silver' to think that I'm engaged with a boy or something like this. That's my point."

Vanitas looked at him from his seat, as relaxed as before. "So what?" was his simple answer. Sora was now livid.

"Listen!" started the brunet pointing the index at the other boy. "I don't know if you've got a problem with me or something else, but..."

Vanitas' face darkened. "That finger! Move it or lose it!" Surprised by that sudden change of mood, Sora shut up immediately.

"Listen, boy." continued Vanitas, now standing up in front of Sora and slowly walking towards him. "Don't think that I've not seen how you gaze at Riku." Vanitas was continuing to walk towards Sora making him move back till the railing of the balcony. "I don't know what it's going on between the two of you, but frankly I don't care." Sora tried to object but to no use, Vanitas was so close to him that he could feel his breath. "Because..." He reached the brunet's ear. "He is mine."

"What's going on here?"

Hearing Riku's voice, Sora realized that from his position it could look like he and Vanitas were doing something that they obviously weren't doing, and that made him blush so violently that when the black-haired boy detached from him, he had the certainty that Riku had surely got the wrong idea.

"Just talking. I really like your friend, Silver." quickly answered Vanitas taking a bier from Riku's hands and walking back in the house. "I'll go back inside check the kiddies. See you later, boys. It's been a pleasure to meet you, Sora."

"Sora?" asked Riku when they were finally alone.

"I... forgot to find a surname."

"That's not what I meant." Evidently Sora wasn't half as skilled as Riku at dodging topics. "What's going on?" The brunet couldn't answer, though, 'cause they were interrupted by Terra and Aqua who had reached them.

"Hey, boys! Here you are! Come on, we'll start the tour of the house, so you won't get lost."

"Yeah, it can sound stupid, but every year there's someone who gets lost..."

"Oh, yeah... we'll arrive in a moment." muttered Sora. "Listen, Riku." said, then, to his friend lowering the voice. "Reach me and Roxas in our chamber this night. There's something we need to discuss."

"There surely is."

* * *

**End Notes: **Uh... not a lot to say, this time. Not that I have to. Enjoy and review :)


	21. Chapter 21: Sweet Dreams

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

******Chapter Notes: **No one will take the one who is destined for you.

* * *

**Chapter 21: Sweet Dreams**

_Friday_

_'This is great!'_

It was hot, very hot, even though they were just wearing swimsuits. Sora had never been before in a steam bath, but the moment Terra had showed them that he had one built on the ground floor of his house he knew he had to try it.

"Hot, uh?" asked the silver-haired boy next to Sora, who was wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Yeah, it's... nearly 60°C." answered the brunet looking at a thermometer.

"I was talking about you."

Sora wondered when Riku had come so much dangerously close to him, but he stopped worrying about it when he suddenly felt the older boy lips on his own. Once more. And like the first time he didn't react, he couldn't react, eyes widened in surprise and awe. He wasn't answering the kiss, but Riku was keeping on nibbling at his lips and, damn, it felt good. And so he stopped thinking, he simply closed his eyes and let the other boy continue what he was doing. He didn't know if there were other people there, nor he did care, he just instinctively contracted his muscles for a moment when he felt a hand through his hair. A pleasant sensation on the lower parts of his body made him understand that he had to stop that while he still could.

"Ri... Riku..." Those were the only words that Sora could mutter before Riku took advantage of that moment to slip his tongue inside his mouth. He had barely the time to realize it that it started to feel Riku's other hand on his chest. It was just too much... too... much...

And then the other boy abruptly moved away from him, and his absence scared Sora more than what his presence had done until that moment.

"I had told you that he is mine!" For a moment Sora looked at Vanitas' perfect body in astonishment, then he quickly changed his feelings in anger when he and Riku started a passionate kiss just in front of him.

"Riku! What..."

He looked at the brunet with indifference. "Do you really think that I would choose you when I can have someone like Vanitas?" And with those words the silver-haired boy resumed his kiss with the black-haired one.

"Sora, Sora!"

_'Shut up, Rox, not now!' _"Riku!" Sora wanted to separate the two boys, but he couldn't move. He wanted to run away from there, but he was stuck in his place. He wanted to cry, but his eyes were dry. He could just stand there and look at the half-naked Riku and Vanitas brutally making out in front of him.

"Sora! Wake up!"

* * *

Sora slowly opened his eyes: his brother was sitting on his bed and was looking at him worried. "You were having a bad dream?"

The still dazed brunet muttered some words. "A true nightmare." _'What the hell was I dreaming?'_

"Are you alright, now?" asked a voice from an unknown point of the room.

Sora jumped from the surprise at the hearing of Riku's voice. "What were you dreaming? You were calling my name?"

There was no teasing in his voice, just plain curiosity and a trace of worry, but that didn't stop Sora from blushing so deeply that he was sure it would have caught fire one moment or the other.

"What... what are you doing here?" asked to Riku while trying to hide his erection with the bed covers when the silver-haired boy started to walk towards him with an interrogative expression.

"Uh? It was you who asked me to reach you two, have you forgotten?"

"You did, bro?"

"Uh, yes." answered a still embarrassed Sora. "There's... there's a lot to discuss."

"Fire away, then."

"First of all, Larxene and the others have told you that they... well..."

"That all of them are gay? Yes, I discovered it when Zexion and Demyx started to make out during the travel."

Roxas widened his eyes surprised. "And you're fine with that? It doesn't bother you in the least?"

"Why should it? I'm not as homophobic as you two are." There was a certain resentment in Riku's voice. Sora opened his mouth to counteract, but Roxas spoke first, furious.

"How. Dare. You. Judge. Me? What do you know of what I think? Or what I feel, for what matters?" Sora knew why his brother was reacting like that; Riku clearly didn't. "Rox, calm down, now."

"I'm sick of your arrogance!" continued the blond boy ignoring his brother. "Always doing what you want without thinking what happens to the people around you and..." "That's not true!"

Sora was still in his bed, but Riku and Roxas were now gnashing theirs teeth, 10 centimeter maximum between their noses.

"That's not true? That's not true? You destroyed the life of my brother and all you could say was 'It's his fault'!"

Sora was starting to feel really uneasy "Rox, please..."

Riku didn't answer but he didn't move either, so Roxas continued talking. He was nearly screaming, at that moment. "I've always tolerate you because you were Sora's friend. No more. You know what?" _'Don't! Just don't say, it, bro!' _"I..." Roxas' eyes met Riku's. "I like boys too!"

_'Shit! Bad idea, Roxas!'_ For a second Riku looked surprised, probably wondering if the blond boy was serious or not. "So now tell me: how can I be homophobic? And how can my brother?"

Roxas had hit the spot, because Riku clearly didn't know what to say. Some other seconds passed without anyone talking; Roxas was still furiously fixing his brother's friend who had moved his look to the ground. Sora was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Please, stop!" Both of them turned their look on him at those words "Ok, you don't like each other, I've understood it. It makes me feel bad, but I can't force you to be friends." Roxas looked away ashamed "What I'm asking you is just... while we're here, can you, please, call a truce? You'll... you'll resume the hostilities once back home, ok?"

After a moment of squaring off at each other, the two boys reluctantly shook a hand without saying a word. Better than nothing.

"So..." started Sora still a little uneasy. "Why do you guys think that they invited us here?"

Roxas gave him an interrogative gaze. "Well, it's pretty obvious, isn't it? They saw us as homos and... it's just solidarity, I think..."

"Yes, it's probably like that, Sora. Why do you worry about it, anyway?"

"Because they invited only me and Roxas and not you, Riku."

"They probably just don't like me too much, that's the impression I've got from Saïx, at least."

"There's more: Axel started being friendly with me at the beginning of the school, a week before the Back to School party, a week before..."

"...the 'accident'" concluded Roxas thoughtful "Yes, you're right bro. I hadn't think to that."

"Or it could just be a coincidence, you know? Seriously, you're thinking too much, we should just relax and make the most of this weekend."

"Riku." Sora didn't really know if it was a good or a bad idea, but after some seconds he decided to ask it to his friend "How do you know Vanitas?"

Four eyes were now focused on the silver-haired boy, waiting for an answer. "What makes you think that I already knew him?" was the answer of a blushing Riku. A blushing Riku? Sora tried as hard as he could, but he didn't remember to have ever seen his best friend blushing before.

"He called you by your name, and in here everyone call you 'Silver'. Now, please. Stop avoiding my questions and just answer me." He was calm but determined to get his answers.

"We'd met a couple of years ago, ok? I didn't even know his name, we just..." The older boy stopped for a moment and closed his mouth, a second later he resumed talking. "It was during that week when we went see Radiant Garden with the school. Happy, now?" He surely was nervous; it was quite uncommon to see Riku that way, even Roxas was perplexed.

"Not really." The brunet realized that he was becoming aggressive but he didn't care. "What's so embarrassing that is making you blush?"

"Sora, calm down, what's the matter?" asked Roxas, now even more perplexed.

"What do you want from me, Sora? If there's something you want to tell me just do it!" promptly answered Riku regaining his cool and silencing his friend.

"I... I... it's just that he's a strange guy, he..." he thought for a second what he should and what he shouldn't say "I think he... he likes you."

Roxas, who was continuously swinging between perplexity and astonishment, was surprised by that affirmation, Riku apparently wasn't; he sat on the bed next to Sora who shivered a little remembering his dream. "Listen, Sora." he started quietly, maybe a little sad. "I really don't want to pick a fight with you. I'll be fine, really, I can take care of myself and even if I appreciate that you're worrying for me there's no need for it, ok?"

"O-ok..." were the only words that could come out from the brunet.

"As for you..." continued Riku turning his head towards Roxas "I apologize."

"You do?" asked together Roxas and Sora incredulous.

Riku smiled a little "What's to be so surprised about? I suppose I should've suspected it considering that you were invited here, still I didn't realize you were gay. And I'm sorry for that."  
"It's... it's ok." simply answered the blond boy. "I have not been either very kind to you."

"Fine. I suppose we're ok, then. I'm falling asleep, see ya tomorrow."

Once the silver-haired boy had left, Sora looked at his brother, totally shocked too at Riku's unusual behavior. When they decided to go sleeping, Sora just hoped to have sweet dreams.

* * *

**End Notes: **Happy Valentine's Day to whoever has spent it alone as me :) This chapter is a little particular but I hope you've liked it.


	22. Chapter 22: Sweetstack

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

******Chapter Notes: **He that is not jealous is not in love.

* * *

**Chapter 22: Sweetstack**

_Saturday_

It had been a great day until midday. Axel and Saïx had come to Sora and Roxas' room quite early, dragging them out of the house despite their protests for wanting to sleep; after all, what was there to do, in the middle of nowhere? Despite being the beginning of the autumn the sun was shining bright so, after an abundant breakfast with Aqua and Terra who were already awake, the four boys had taken a swimsuit and they'd reached the little lake next to the chalet. Despite feeling a little embarrassed at the beginning because of all was going on, Sora quickly started to appreciate the company of the two seniors. While Axel was always the same free spirit he was at school, Saïx was completely different: relaxed, entertaining, amusing even; Sora would've never believed that one day he would have jumped on his shoulders and fight to take down his brother respectively sitting on Axel's shoulder. Of course the brunet was the first to fall into the water, not that that did stop him from enjoying the situation.

And then Riku arrived, sporting a flower-themed azure swimsuit long till his knees and a perfect body, not excessive muscular but surely totally fit. Sora didn't remember to have ever noticed how beautiful his friend was, no wonder all the girls in their school were trying to go out with him. He realized that there was something strange going on: after the dreams he had had during the night he knew it would have been better not to come too close to him, at least until he had figured it all out and, more importantly, till he was half naked, but still he wanted to enjoy the company of his friend. And then Terra, Aqua and Dilan joined them, bringing their numbers to eight so they could do a match of water volleyball. Yeah, it was great, and then when it was lunch time they reached the other guys in the dining room, Vanitas included.

"Hello, guys. Sora! Sit here, next to me. How are you doing today?" started the black-haired boy at the sight of them all.

"Uh... hi. I'm doing fine, you?" asked Sora confused but taking the place indicated.

"Fine." was the answer before he started talking with Terra. A little surprised by that sudden change of attitude, Sora quickly dismissed his doubts thinking that maybe the boy just wanted to apologize for what had happened the day before. Then he turned his head and saw that Riku was looking at them with his usual indecipherable look. Sora gave him a smile.

"It's all right, Ri- 'Silver'?"

"Umpf, of course, why shouldn't it?" answered the boy without persuading the brunet in the least and sitting next to him.

At the end of the lunch, Sora was sure of three things: firstly, Aqua was a great cook, secondly, Larxene, Demyx and Zexion weren't able to eat peas without resisting to the urge of throwing them to everyone on the table and thirdly, Vanitas seemed to really have had a change of heart, 'cause he spent nearly all the lunch time talking to him. Sora was more than pleased of that, but the words of the day before and the dreams of that boy kept lingering in his mind disturbing him somehow.

"Sora!" The voice of Riku, who hadn't said a word during all the lunch, made the brunet jump on his seat "Come with me." It wasn't an order, more like an invitation.

"Uh, sure. Something's the matter?"

Riku stood up quietly and looked at Sora. "Not really."

The younger boy wasn't really sure of what to do: he could feel Saïx's, Vanitas' and Roxas' eyes on him, even if they were conversing with Dilan, Terra and Axel respectively. Uneasy in that situation, he quickly followed Riku out of the room, not fast enough to avoid Larxene's caustic remarks, apparently.

"Uh-uh. Looks like the lovebirds are out for a make out session..." This time he was expecting it, though.

"Jealous, maybe?" promptly answered Sora forcing himself not to blush. Not too much, at least. Riku looked at him clearly surprised.

Axel, who had stopped talking with Roxas, looked at Larxene "Wow, Arlene, that was heavy!"

"So you can talk back. I suppose you're not a total pushover, then."

Sora was surely charged up. "Charmer. We should hang out more..."

"With a squirt? We'll talk about it again when you'll hit puberty."

"Come on, Sora, don't let her have the last word." started to cheer Saïx. Riku didn't seem to like that.

"Come on, Sora, it doesn't matter. Let's go out and-"

"We'll talk about it again when you'll get a less stupid haircut." shouted back Sora referring to Larxene's extravagant bangs while being pulled out by Riku. He was sure that the girl would have make him pay for that, but he couldn't help but smile when he heard someone in the distance (must had been Zexion or Demyx) saying something like: "You gotta admit it, Arlene: the boy has some guts."

* * *

"So? What are we doing here?"

Riku moved some pine branches and kept walking. "Nothing special."

_'Nothing special? Then why he made me left during lunch? Unless...' _"Ouch!" exclaimed Sora when the branch Riku had just moved sprang back to his face knocking him on the ground. Riku turned immediately to him.

"I'm sorry, Sora. Are you ok?" The older boy got on his knees to help his friend. Sora didn't move, paralyzed from the sudden realization it had just struck him.

_'Could it be? Kairi could have really been right?' _He got up and sat on the ground. "I'm... I'm fine."

"Fine, 'cause there's something that I wanted to ask you..." The two boys were now really close to each other.

_'It's true, then! He's in love with me! What can I do? What can I say?'_ "Su-sure, fire away!"

"Do you like Vanitas?"

If prof. Vexen had appeared dancing naked in front of them, Sora would have been less surprised than to hear that question. How could Riku think such a thing? "No!" he answered, probably too quickly. The other boy glared at him.

"Then I really don't get you. After all you've told me yesterday, now you're all friendly with him."

"I... I was just trying to set things right." Dang, he sounded too much apologizing even to himself. "I mean... he hadn't been very gentle to me yest-"

"Really? Because what I remember is to have surprised you two in a more than gentle situation." Judging by the tone of Riku's voice, the boy was starting to get nervous.

"What? No, no, it wasn't like that, it was..." And then Sora suddenly realized. "Wait a sec... You're jealous!" At those words, Riku made a jump back.

"What? Don't be ridiculous. I can't-"

"Then say it once and for all: our... our kiss, it was a joke... or it wasn't?"

"Why do you keep asking this? You're not-"  
"Say it!" Despite wanting to sound determined, Sora realized that he was sounding pleading. He tried as hard as possible to maintain eye contact with his friend, who was fixing him defiantly.

"It was a joke!"

"Oh!" Definitely NOT the answer Sora was expecting to hear. "We... we're fine, then. I suppose..."

Riku looked at the brunet who was now fixing his shoes as if waiting an answer from them. "You look disappointed..."

The younger boy immediately pull himself together standing back on his legs. "No, no. I... I'm fine. I just... I thought..."

"Listen, Sora!" said Riku starting to take off his shirt. "We're here together in the middle of a forest, wearing swimsuits with a lake and a lovely day at our disposition. Let's just have some relax, the two of us." Sora looked a little embarrassed at his friend. "Just like old times, what do you say?"

Memories of his last night started to emerge again inside Sora's mind, but he quickly shacked his head dismissing those troublesome thoughts and started to undress himself.

"Great, let's go! We'll swim completely naked." said Riku winking.

"Are you joking, right?" muttered the flushing Sora.

"Of course." answered Riku jumping into the water (his swimsuit still on him). "But I suppose that if it wasn't a joke, I would still say that it was."

* * *

**End Notes: **A turning point is coming. Next: the Party!


	23. Chapter 23: Skull Noise

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

******Chapter Notes: **Two is a company, three is a crowd.

* * *

**Chapter 23: Skull Noise**

_Saturday_

"Look, there's something on your shoulder..."

"Ahahah! Yes, it's my little monkey."

"Yay, what's his name?"

"He's called Roxas, like my brother."

"I know your brother. He's... fine. He's... fine."

"You said it twice. Why did you say it twice?"

"What?"

"Uh... I don't remember. Where's Roxas?"

"I bet he's with his new red friend."

"I meant the monkey."

"Me too."

Sora was feeling totally relaxed. He had smoked weed only once in his life (and, of course, the headmaster had caught them, costing him his first disciplinary letter), so he wasn't really used to it. Riku on the other side was a little more lucid, enough at least to find the way back to the chalet.

"There it is. Hey, there's a lot of people." said quietly the brunet. He was right: there were at least ten people on the meadow before the house, some talking and some playing some kind of ball game. Five more were on the balcony on the first floor.

"Sora! Wake up! It's nearly 7 o'clock, don't you remember?"

"Oh, yes. The party. Yeah, I want to party!" Sora started to jump all around, Riku smiled trying to keep behind him.

The moment they entered in the house they discovered that, despite being quite early, there were at least fifty people wrapped-up in their activities. And only in the entrance hall. As they progressed through the rooms, trying to reach the dining room from when the music was apparently coming from, the people kept increasing in number, to the point that when Sora had finally reached their destination, he had lost the other boy.

"Uh... Riku?" When Sora realized that he was alone, he also realized that he was in the middle of what had been transformed in some kind of dancing floor. He moved in the direction of the kitchen (that he remembered being next to that room) avoiding the dancing people around him and hoping to find someone there. It was a little more quiet, at least, with only a few people in there. An ash blond boy who was mixing something on the table turned his head towards him and smiled.

"You look lost, boy. Something's wrong?"

"Uh? I'm searching for my friends. I've lost them..."

The blond boy took the bottle of rum he was handling and started to fill a second glass. "You're always so stylish at parties, ..."

Sora looked at the swimsuit and the dirty white shirt he was wearing. "...Sora. Uh, actually I'm just back from the lake and I haven't had the time to change. And you are..."

"Pink. Pink is the color of love, and a humanitarian like me loves people, so you should call me Pink." answered the boy taking one of the two glasses and giving the other to Sora who looked at it suspiciously _'Oh, right. The nicknames thing...'_.

"Uh... what's this?" asked taking out from his glass a slice of lime.

"You don't know it? Let's try it, then. Cheers!"

"Uh... Cheers!" Sora emptied his drink in little more than 5 seconds.

"My, my." The blond boy looked at him quietly. "Looks like you liked it."

"It... it tasted great! What about one more?"

"Now you're talking, Sora. Let's spend some quality time together."

* * *

"Sora! Where were you?"

At the sight of his brother running towards him on the balcony, Sora started to laugh.

"How the hell did you dress?" was the simultaneous reaction of both brothers. The other boy let out a little laugh.

Sora actually thought that Roxas looked quite sharp in his black dress shirt. Nonetheless, he could have closed at least one of the buttons of it.

"Aww, I forgot to go change when I arrived from the lake. Oh, Rox, this is... uhm... 'Pink'. 'Pink', my brother Roxas."

The blond boy looked at Roxas smiling. "Nice to meet you, Roxas. Not that it bothers me, but my boyfriend is quite jealous, can I ask you to stop looking at me that way?"

Luckily Roxas was already red, Sora guessed for the alcohol, 'cause that was really embarrassing. "I... I didn't mean... I mean..."

"Relax, boy. It's actually flattering to be found interesting by such a cutie like you." It looked like he was trying to embarrass Roxas as much as possible.

"I... uhm... thank you. I have... I have to go, my friends are waiting for me. You come too, Sora?" It looked like he was perfectly succeeding in his purpose.

"Yeah, I'll reach you in a moment. Hey, where?"

"Second floor, first door on the left. The room of Silver and Vanitas. Uh... Bye, 'Pink'." Sora spat out the (fourth, fifth? He couldn't really remember...) Mojito that he was drinking, but Roxas had already disappeared.

"Silver... and Vanitas' room? What..."

The blond boy took a long sip of his drink. "You know, Sora, I didn't realize immediately that you were too into boys."

"Eh? Uh? No, no! I'm not, I was just... ehr... surprised..."

"Really? Then I suppose you don't care if those two hang out together, right?"

"They're not together! That would be bad, I mean... because... it's complicated to explain!"

"I'm sure it is. For example, I can't yet tell which one of the two you're interested in."

"Riku!" instinctively screamed Sora, putting a hand on his mouth a second later realizing he had made a mistake. "I mean... Silver... but just 'cause he's my friend!"

"Keep telling yourself that, your face is priceless."

"You don't understand! Even if he likes me... I mean if he should like me, I..."

"You think he loves you? Let me tell you a thing: it's not hard to get people, Sora. It's impossible." Sora looked nervously at the smirk constantly upon his face. "But if you're sure of that, try to make him jealous and see how he reacts."

He was starting to get really irritated by that nosy boy. _'Who does he think he is to get into my...'_

"Joshua! Where were you? I thought you only went searching something to drink..." A tall and slender boy with spiky orange hair and blue eyes had reached them and was now scanning Sora from top to bottom. He was wearing an extravagant black and indigo sleeveless shirt and white pants held up by a loose-fitting belt.

"Joshua? So that's your real name?" asked curiously Sora.

"Mother and father call me Joshua." was the answer. "I guess you can call me Joshua, too..."

"Who is this?" interrupted the newcomer addressing the blond boy.

"Hi." started the brunet shyly. "I'm Sora. Nice to meet you." The orange-haired boy glared at him.

"I just met you. I don't like you. And I don't give a rat's ass if you think I'm rude!" Sora shut up immediately.

"And Black 'n' Blue has the emo position filled."

"It's your fault, Josh! You can't disappear like that for two hours."

"I don't see how this is my fault. You're the one who refuses to call me Pink."

"Yeah, now I get it. You're trying to make me pay 'cause I don't want to play your stupid games."

Sora had appreciated Joshua's company until that moment, but he thought that that was a good moment to reach his brother. Possibly unseen. He disappeared back in the house, followed only by Joshua's words. "Actually, I should be Gold, the color of wisdom."

* * *

One mojito and two wrong doors later, Sora finally reached Riku's room. He didn't get the time to look around him that an enthusiastic choir welcomed him in.

"Kiddo! Where were you? Have a seat!" shouted Axel from the bottom berth of a bunk bed.  
Sora was a little confused, not to say decisively drunk and slightly stoned, but he was pretty sure that there were at least six people in the room that he knew. He sat on the ground next to the most recognizable thing he could identify in the room, which totally casually happened to be Riku's silver mane. He smiled at him.

"Hey, Sor! Where were you?" asked the silver-haired boy.

"I was on the balcony..." Sora thought to Joshua's words. What was that thing about jealousy? "Talking with a boy I've met, right, bro?"

"Uh... yeah, right." There was a slight shade of embarrassment in Roxas' voice. Not surprisingly at all.

"And why are you staring at me?" asked a relatively lucid Riku.

"Who? Me?" answered Sora in all sincerity while realizing that he was effectively staring at him.

"Oh, come on! It was my turn, let's going on!" Sora turned to see Demyx sat on the window sill with Zexion's arms around him.

"Truth or Dare, boy." explained a pink _'Pink?!'_ haired boy sat too on the ground next to Sora, causing him to start laughing uncontrollably.

"Sora! Control yourself!" murmured Riku.

"Come on, bro! Ok, it's a game for kids but it's amusing."

"Uh? Oh right, right, sorry, let's start then." muttered Sora, thinking that laughing at someone's hair color wasn't really polite, anyway.

* * *

**End Notes: **Yes, we all know where this is going. Maybe. Enjoy "sweet-enough-to-rot-your-teeth-moments" (till you can :). Mbwahahah


	24. Chapter 24: Ominous Blight

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Extra Notes: **Double chapter, or as I like to call them, pain in the ass to write. I had this chapter in mind since the beginning of the story, and some will hate me for this. Enjoy.

**Chapter Notes: **The heart was made to be broken

* * *

**Chapter 24: Ominous Blight**

_Saturday_

"I want to ask the newcomer! Sora, Truth or Dare?"

_'Ah, I won't fall for this!' _"Truth!"

Demyx looked like a kid who had just received a gift. "Ok, then... We want to know aaaall about the boy you were with!"

Sora was a little surprised by that. He turned his head: Riku was looking at him, his blank expression always present. "Oh, well, nothing special. He was a blondie whose name was 'Pink'" He heard some laughter around him. "Oh, and he had a broad passion for Mojito."

After some seconds of silence Demyx talked again. "Yes, and... What happened between you two?"

Sora looked at Riku and smiled. "You asked me who was that boy, I've answered your question. My turn, now?"

For a moment, Sora enjoyed seeing Demyx opening his mouth as to say something and then closing it and pouting. "Cunning boy." commented Zexion.

"So, I think I'll ask..." He looked around him to see to who he could ask something. _'Riku... uh, I think I'll pass for now, Zexion, Demyx, Roxas... nah, I'll keep him for later, Axel, Pink-haired boy,... hey, who is that black haired girl who is eyeing my brother? Maybe...'_ "Hey, what's your name?"

The girl turned his head to look at him. "Me? My name is Xion." answered blushing a little.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Sora, Roxas' brother." Sora was sure that her blush had deepening at those words. "So, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." she murmured timidly.

"Ok, then. Go and kiss my brother." announced Sora with a broad smile.

The girl quickly changed her color from red to white. Nonetheless, she stood up and started to cross the room in Roxas' direction. And he kissed him. Much to everyone's surprise. Just a quick peck on his lips, but Sora could feel his brother stiffen despite being half a room of distance from him. The brunet grinned amused.

"Pull yourself together, blondie. Your turn, Xion!" shouted Axel giving a pat on Roxas' back who was literally speechless.

"Uh, ok. Ienzo, then. Truth or Dare?"

* * *

Sora had completely lost the perception of time, but at least a hour should have passed since he had entered that room. He had been lucky enough, because he had got only another question; his brother, on the other side, had been less lucky, like when Axel had asked him viciously "Ever been caught jerking off?" and at his embarrassed denial Sora had started to cough noisily, causing Riku to burst into laughter. And talking about Riku, he was really happy that they had made peace: he had forgotten how much enjoyable staying with him was. And he didn't really care if Riku really... if he...

"Your turn, then, DEAR brother!"

Roxas' nervous voice made Sora come back to reality. "Uh, what's the deal, little bro? We play too rough, for you?"

"What an original sentence! Must be the first time I hear it." The two brothers were now glaring at each other. And both of them with a grin on their faces. "This year."

"Classic never dies. So, Roxas, do a favor to yourself and shut up!"

"Not so fast, bro. As I was saying, it's your turn, now. Truth or Dare?"

"I can't believe it. All of these years and you still think you can outsmart me. Truth, of course." Roxas' smile widened.

"Oh, I think you don't know very well the rules, then. Care to tell him, Lea."  
"Geez, kids should really stop drinking: alcohol has a strange effect on the two of you. But blondie is right, kiddo, you can't pick 'Truth' more than twice in a row."

"Oh." Sora's bravery started to disappear quickly, at least as much fast as Roxas' boldness was growing. Nevertheless, he tried his best to look calm and controlled. "Oh, uhm, ok. Dare, then." He was clearly failing.

Of course, Sora already knew what his brother wanted to ask him. He gave a discreet glance at Riku, who looked totally relaxed, as he had been during all the evening.

"Aw, come on kiddo, we all know that blondie here wants to see you and your silvery friend kiss. So stop losing time and do it, boys!" interrupted Axel abruptly, his hands behind his head and his eyes slightly closed as if he was saying the most innocent thing in the world.

"Lea!" screamed Roxas pretending to be hurt. "I had dibs on this. You robbed me of this moment!"

"I'll do something for you so that you can forgive me." answered Axel winking at Roxas who, anyway, was too focused on his brother to acknowledge it.

While he had expected that, Sora didn't really know how to get out of that situation. Running away was out of discussion, of course. But after all, he could really kiss him; the real problem at school were the students and, in there, everything was fair, right? Everybody kept screaming 'what happens in here stays in here' and, heck, there were tons of homosexual people in that place, so who could say anything? Not that Sora was a homo, of course, and if Riku really was... well, he could have hurt him, and Sora had conserved some sparks of lucidity for not wanting to hurt him...

"I don't think that's a good idea, Roxas!"

Riku's authoritarian voice brought Sora's thoughts to an abruptly halt. _'What is he saying?'_

"You shouldn't do this, your brother is particularly sensitive on this matter, you'll only hurt him." '_Who-the-hell-does-he-thinks-is-he-talking-about?' _Sora fell his frustration grow: if there's a thing he had never stand for was to be treated like a girl. _'You'll better shut up, Riku!' _But the silver-haired boy didn't stop talking. "I mean, you know him better than me: he's just a little shy boy." _'No, seriously, he's doing it on purpose or what?' _"He's just as scared as..." Riku never ended that sentence.

Sora wasn't perfectly sure of what had happened. He was sure of two things, though: the first was that he wanted to shut Riku up. The second was that without even realizing it, he had grabbed the silver-haired boy's shoulders and, without giving him the time to react, he had planted a kiss on his lips. A really soft kiss, he had just laid his own lips on those of his friend for some seconds, actually. And then he had stepped back between the general 'wow' that was echoing in the room, savoring the completely shocked expression painted on Riku's face.

"Satisfied, Rox?" asked to his surprised brother trying to maintain a certain degree of self control. He had the impression that his heart would have got out of his chest if it wouldn't have slowed down, though.

"So it's Sora's turn, now?" asked the pink-haired boy next to the brunet.

Demyx jumped out of Zexion's hug "Aw, enough! I wanna go down to party! You come, Ienzo?". And that was the end of Truth or Dare, because in the end everyone decided to go dance. As they went down the stairs, Sora couldn't shake off the feeling of being thoroughly observed by Riku, even if every time he turned his head to check him he was apparently looking at something else.

* * *

"Isa! What's up?" shouted Axel when they had reached the center of the dancing floor.

"Hey, Lea." Sora was surprised to see that even when he had to scream to being heard, Saïx's voice was still as flat as usual. "Trying to find Arlene, right now. She always has that bad habit of disappearing when... oh, found her."

Sora moved his look to see what Saïx was pointing and then he saw her: Larxene was on a table improvised as a cube doing some kind of... really suggestive dance that apparently was being really appreciated by the male side of the room. "Well, she has the clothes on her at least. This time. Most of them, anyway." simply commented a vaguely familiar voice behind Sora.

"Oh, hi, Terra. Didn't see the two of you." muttered the slightly disoriented boy.

"No worries, are you enjoying the evening, Sora?" asked Aqua with her usual gentle voice.

"Oh, yeah, lots of people here, how do you know so many people, by the way?"

"Who told you that we know all of them?" answered Aqua smirking before starting dancing like everyone else.

After some time during which various things happened, including Demyx falling asleep in the middle of the room as if someone had pull the plug on him, Sora started to look around him in search of Riku. But the silver-haired boy was nowhere to be found; Sora wasn't particularly surprised by that: Riku hated dancing, so he must have slipped away when everyone was distracted (by Larxene, probably). Still, the brunet felt guilty: they hadn't exchanged a single word after the little kiss they had shared that evening, but Sora had seen the expression of surprise of Riku. Surprise or... disappointment, maybe? After all, if Riku was really in love with him, how could he have felt at that? _'I'm an idiot! I'm an absolute idiot! I need to see him! Now!'_ And so Sora disappeared without saying a word to anyone in the crowd of people. Once reached the hall of the house he gave a glance at the clock on the wall: 1:00. Where had he spent all of that time? He looked everywhere in that room but his friend wasn't there. Too bad 'cause that was the most probably place where he could have found it. So, considering that all the places were the same to him and that he was feeling a little thirsty, he decided to play around till he would eventually encounter his friend. With a mojito, hence the thirsty part.

* * *

_'What can I tell him, this time? Maybe it's better to clarify that I kissed him only to...'_ And the glass Sora was holding in his hand fell to the ground, breaking in the process. He had just stepped on the balcony (that, considering the hour, was still pretty full of people) when he had seen Riku's characteristic silver hair. He was quite distant from Sora, but still the younger boy could see him perfectly; he was standing in front of the railing, but that was unimportant. What really mattered was that between him and the railing there was another boy. What really mattered was that this other boy had Riku's hands wrapped around him. And above all, they were kissing. They. Were. Kissing. Riku and Vanitas were kissing and they were clearly giving the impression that they wouldn't have stopped soon. Sora had to do a considerable effort for resisting the urge to go there and separate them. Instead he ran away, just wanting to stay alone. _'People. Everywhere. Go away! Leave me alone!'_ Not wanting to take the risk of crossing someone he knew, he took the stairs and reached the second floor where he entered the first room he found empty. He jumped on the bed and started to cry; he didn't know why, he just felt the need of doing it. He had only some seconds, though, 'cause he heard the door of the room opening. He dried his tears quickly, trying to look as relaxed as possible and hoping that it was someone he didn't know. Vainly.

"Apart from the obvious, are you all right, Sora?"

"I... I am fine." lied the brunet. "Why shouldn't I, Isa?"

Saïx closed the door of the chamber and sat next to Sora. "Because I saw it. I saw your friend kissing my cousin. And I saw you ran away."

There was something strange in Saïx. He was being gentle, but Sora would've actually guessed that he was happy. "It was your cousin that was... that was kissing my friend." answered angrily. He could feel the tears behind his eyes. "And... and wait a sec! You were following me?"

"I saw you going away from the dancing floor." answered Saïx without the slightest embarrass. "I just wanted to check if you were ok."

"Uh..." answered the brunet calming down a little. "Thanks, then." When did Saïx had come so close to him? "Uhm, maybe we should go down with the others."

"There's no hurry. Or are you afraid of something?" asked viciously the senior approaching a little more to Sora. There were only 5 inches top separating the two boys. Too little for Sora's tastes, so he started to slide back towards the head of the bed.

"No-not at all! W-what's to be afraid of?" His voice came out a little too much high-pitched to sound honest.

"Nothing." simply answered Saïx, his tone always calm and controlled but keeping on advancing towards the younger boy. "Absolutely nothing."

"Uh... C-can you at least..." Sora clashed against the headboard of the bed, ending his rushed escape. He hadn't the time to realize it that Saïx was already on him. Literally. "W-wait, I..." Sora was so confused that he couldn't move a finger, so he didn't do anything when Saïx put his lips on his mouth. Hot tears started again to flow from his eyes, at which Saïx moved away immediately from the brunet.

"You... you're crying!" From the first time since he had known him, Sora had the impression that the older boy was sincerely manifesting some emotions. Worry, to be more precise.

"I... I..." started Sora unable to articulate anything more and uselessly trying to keep the tears behind his eyes.

"It's ok. Say no more. I understand." said Saïx in a as comprehensive as resigned way that Sora had never seen before in anybody. Not even his own brother. Sora simply hugged him, without stopping crying, and the other boy let him doing it. "Just cry, as much as you feel the need to."

Sora didn't know how much time he spent crying on Saïx's shoulder. He didn't even really know why he was crying. What he knew was that at a certain point a voice who made him stiffen filled the room.

"Hey-hey-hey! I hope we aren't interrupting something." That irritating voice announcing that Vanitas was entering the room had the effect of making Sora jump out of the bed immediately.

"That's not... Riku?!" The brunet was quick enough to see, next to Vanitas, his silver-haired friend moving his right hand behind himself: they were holding hands. He didn't move, filled with shock as he was, staring into his best friend's eyes for some interminable seconds, none in the room saying anything.

"Sorry, 'cuz" started then Vanitas without bothering to even look at Sora. "But you should get out of our room: me and 'Silver' here wanted some privacy. If you can see what I mean..." He said that with clear derision in his voice. At least that's the feeling Sora got, still paralyzed in the same position. He wasn't crying anymore, he would have never shown to Riku that he was crying, but his widened eyes were red enough to not leave room for many doubts.

"Shut up, Vanitas! Come on, Sora, let's get down!" Saïx talked with a calm yet authoritarian tone while standing up. Sora didn't move. He still couldn't, at least until Saïx put a hand on his shoulder and shook him a little.

"...yeah." murmured Sora moving towards the door, his gaze now lost in space, fixed on an imprecise point of the wall.

"Sora..." The brunet heard Riku calling him when he was already out of the room; while he couldn't see his face, his voice sounded sad. He didn't turn back.

With Saïx next to him, Sora went down the stairs. If the blue-haired boy could've read his mind he would've seen it completely blank; the younger boy was walking like a zombie, wandering without a real destination.

"Want to drink something?" Somehow, Saïx's voice reached Sora's mind. The brunet nodded slowly with the head and started to walk instinctively towards the kitchen. And then he opened the door, but he could've never been ready for what he found behind it: his brother was pinned against a wall by Axel, their bodies wrapped together in an embrace so tight that it looked like Roxas was being squished against the wall. Their eyes were closed, their tongues intertwined. And Sora exploded.

"Hands. Off. My. Brother!"

He shouted it so loudly that everyone on the room turned to look at him. Axel and Roxas included. The blond boy looked at his brother, his face totally red, and then he looked at Axel. After some seconds, during which he was probably realizing what he was doing, he ran away, just like Sora had done at the Back to School Party.

"Hey, blondie, wait!" said Axel trying immediately to run after Roxas. But Sora hadn't the slightest intention of letting the redhead go after his brother and when he was close enough, he slammed him against the wall.

"Wow-wow, calm down, kiddo." said Axel surprised at the strength of the younger boy.

"Don't call me that!" cried the brunet without leaving the grab on him. "What do you think you were doing to my brother?"

Axel smiled a little. "Oh, come on. You may be an innocent little boy but your brother wants to have some fun sometimes, so..."

"Shut up!" screamed Sora slamming him again against the wall. He could feel all the people around them looking at him, but he couldn't care less. "It's my brother, not your toy! Stay away from him! Stay away from us!"

The second hit must have been stronger than the first, 'cause Axel didn't look quiet anymore. "Listen carefully, boy, 'cause I won't repeat it twice! I don't take orders from you, got it memorized? So cut out the scene and let me go! Besides, I don't remember you being so picky when I saved you from that idiot of Seifer!" And Sora let the senior go. The pieces were lining up slowly in his mind, showing him glimpses of the greater picture.

"You..." started breathless the brunet. "You... from the beginning..." He glared at him furiously, finally realizing. "You never did anything for me, am I right?" Axel looked surprised by that statement.

"What? What do you mean by..."

But Sora didn't let him talk. "That's why you saved me. That's why you insisted on inviting Roxas here. That's why you started being so friendly with me even before that..." he paused for a moment. "Before that Riku kissed me. You already knew that my brother was... that he was... You were only trying to get closer to him through me. You were using me!"

Axel didn't say anything, he simply moved his look away from the boy. Another voice reached them. "Sora, you should calm down, now. Don't say something you'll regret later." Saïx's emotionless tone made the brunet even more angry.

"And you..." started Sora turning towards the blue-haired boy. "You knew it all the time, isn't it? And you didn't tell me anything, of course, 'cause if your friend could keep my brother away from me I would have been free to... to..." He didn't end the sentence. He simply walked out of the kitchen. Nobody tried to stop him as he crossed the rooms trying to regain his room where he was hoping to find his brother. Hot tears started once more to flow on his face. _'Roxas. Riku. What's going on?'_

* * *

**End Notes: **I think that the main difference between a fanfic written by a girl and a fanfic written by a boy is that the latter doesn't really care about making his characters suffer. End justify the means, after all...


	25. Chapter 25: Rejection of Fate

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes: **Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **There are days you just want to curl up into a ball and forget about the world

* * *

**Chapter 25: Rejection of Fate**

_Monday_

"Sora, I'm starting to get worried. What's going on?"

Sora thought that Kairi was right to worry: since she and Selphie had shown up at his room nearly half an hour before to bring him to the cafeteria, he hadn't said a single word, despite the storm of questions from the two girls that, of course, wanted to know everything that had happened during that weekend.

Selphie kindly offered him a glass of chocolate milk. "If there's a problem you know that you can talk with us, right? We don't want to see you so depressed." Sora's mind was elsewhere, though.

* * *

"Don't be depressed, Sora. Blue's already got the emo thing covered."

"Oh, so now I'm simply Blue?"

"Black 'n' Blue, you were demoted to plain Blue when you treated poor Sora so badly yesterday."

With his head down on the table, eyes fixed on the bizarre patterns painted on it, Sora couldn't see the two boys sat on the table with him. He didn't want to, anyway, he hadn't slept all night and he had hoped that nobody would have been still awake at dawn. Unfortunately for him there were people in every corner of the house, most of them asleep, but some already awake (or maybe not yet sleepy), like for example that Joshua guy and his loudmouthed boyfriend. And when they saw him take a seat alone on the table of the main room, they obviously felt the need to sat with him.

"So, do you plan to tell us what happened to you? I'm betting it has something to do with your friend Riku..." started Joshua maliciously.

* * *

"Sora! Sora!"

The brunet came back abruptly to reality. "Uh? Sorry, did you say something?" said uninterested, wondering if it was possible to drown oneself in a glass of chocolate milk. That thought was delayed by the suddenly arrival of Tidus.

"Yo Sora, what's up? I'm dying to know what has happened last weekend, my brother never say me anything about... hey, something's wrong?"

Considering that Sora hadn't even lifted his eyes, Selphie answered in his place. "Looks like Sora doesn't feel really well, today. You were supposed to pick up Riku, why you're here alone?"

Till that moment, Sora's head was lean on his arms; at the name of his best friend, aforementioned arms let go and the brunet clashed violently against the table of the cafeteria. The sound was so clear that everybody turned on him.

"He -uh, Sora, are you alright?- told me that he had some things to take care of. He looked quite embarrassed, actually, he didn't even let me in his room."

Kairi looked clearly surprised. "Riku? Never seen him embarrassed, not even that time I entered in his room unannounced and found him naked."

A huge 'thump' made everyone turn again on Sora who had fallen from his chair.

"Sora, what's going on?" asked Kairi who was starting to lose his patience. "Something went wrong with Riku?"

* * *

"As much as it could sound ironic, let me put this straight: your boyfriend and that other... -what was his name? Vanitas?- were hanging out together yesterday, am I right?" Joshua had a constant little smile on his face that Sora had to force himself not to punch him.

"How do you know it? And he isn't my boyfriend, by the way." answered Sora with a totally indifferent voice, his head still leaning on his arms on the table.

"Hee hee. You just told me, dear." said Joshua smirking. The orange-haired boy talked before Sora could hit him, though.

"Cut it out with your little games, Josh! Listen boy, I'm... uh... sorry for being rude yesterday. I was pissed off and you could say that I'm pretty new at this socializing thing." Joshua let go a perfectly hearable little laugh. "My name is Neku, by the way. Sora, right? Let's hear you out: sometimes all people need is a good listener. At least that's what a dear friend of mine used to say to me all the time."

* * *

"I can't. I'm sorry." murmured Sora apathetically.

"Why not? You gotta tell us what happened, friend. You're making the girls worry." Sora felt particularly guilty not to tell Tidus what was troubling him, especially after the way his friend had shown to be particularly comprehensive the last week.

"I told you: it's the rule. 'What happened in here stays in here!'" sadly answered the brunet.

"Screw that! Who said that? The seniors? We're your friends, we're worried about you and we don't want to go through the same mess of last week." From the short time they had been together, Sora knew very well that he had not to made Kairi angry. But, hell, he didn't really care about the seniors: telling the truth would've meant outing his brother and Riku and he couldn't do that. Not to say it would also mean confessing that he had been kissed by a guy. Once more.

* * *

"Hee hee, so you've been kissed, uh? And I didn't imagine your brother being so... proactive."

"Josh? Shut up!" quietly said Neku, apparently used to his boyfriend's flamboyant demeanor. "So... uh... what do you plan to do, now?"

Sora didn't look surprised by that question. "I... don't know." answered sincerely the depressed brunet. "I... guess I'll try to search for my brother, he didn't sleep in our room yesterday..." Sora swallowed noisily, thinking for a moment where and whom with he could've slept.

"Yes, and then?" interrupted Joshua his usual snotty way. "What will you tell him? You know, Sora, I've got the impression that more than your brother, the thing that bothers you the most is what happened with your silvery friend." That boy was insufferable. And insufferably smart, 'cause he was right, he was damn right.

"Could be. Discovering that your best friend is gay is quite shocking..." murmured Sora.

"Please, keep lying to us, I can understand that, but there's no use in lying to yourself."

* * *

"So-ra!" The brunet opened his eyes to see Kairi with his arms crossed and an expression that was screaming 'I'm dead worried', even if Sora interpreted it as 'I'm losing my patience and if you don't spill the beans I'm gonna kick your ass so badly that you won't be able to sit for a month!' Sora looked at the clock on the wall.

"Uhm... gotta go, guys, I've got to go to my locker to take the books of literature. I... uhm... see ya later, ok?" said slowly while standing up and leaving his friends in the cafeteria before they could say something. None of them tried to follow him, luckily; he needed to think about some things someone told him the day before.

* * *

"Face it, Sora! Self-denial will bring you nowhere."  
"You're saying that I'm in love with my friend?" Sora's voice was as flat as ever, totally uninterested as he was by the opinions of the two boys he had met the day before. Or at least pretending to be.

"Your words, not mine." answered Joshua giggling. "Besides, you should be happy: today you and Silver will go home together leaving behind that Vanitas guy. You'll have all the time to conquer his heart."

"I know." spoke Neku quietly trying to cheer Sora up. "He's really, really irritant, but he's right: you won't see that guy again, so no big deal."

The brunet talked with a more decisive and surely irritated tone, this time. "I'm not gay and I'm not in love with him."

"If that's the position you want to keep we're fine. Just a suggestion: ask to yourself why are you feeling so bad about them kissing, then."

* * *

Sora didn't have an answer to that question; he had kept thinking about it the whole Sunday, while on the way back from Tierra de Partida. A silent travel, with neither Saïx nor Axel speaking the whole time. And Roxas... he had just stared at the window without even looking at his brother, while once in the school he had just disappeared. Sleeping at Axel's maybe? Sora shivered, he figured that Roxas had to be quite angry with him after what he had done._ 'I'm a disaster! How can I always mess up everything?Larxene, Saïx, Roxas, Riku,... and if I don't change my attitude Kairi, Tidus and Selphie too will grow tired of me, it's just that... I can't. I feel awful, I just can't just smile and say that everything's all right...'_ He entered the code of the padlock of his locker, trying to focus on the few things that were positive. Like the fact that Vanitas was away and forgotten.

"Hello, Sora. Nice to see you again." said a voice from behind him. And Sora shivered in front of the yellow eyes of a certain pitch black-haired boy.

* * *

**End Notes: **I'm late, I know, sorry about that, as Rik would say, some things to take care of. But next chapter will be on time. Hopefully. Oh, and I've remarked a lot of hate on Vanitas, luckily he won't be around anymor... oh wait ;)


	26. Chapter 26: Void Gear

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **We're never so vulnerable than when we trust someone

* * *

**Chapter 26: Void Gear**

_Monday_

"Wha-wha-wha..."

Vanitas looked at Sora smiling. "You really need to improve your english, you know?"

"What... what are you doing here?" finally muttered the brunet completely paralyzed, his literature book still in hand.

Vanitas buried a hand in his hair, a calm yet menacing look on his face. "Never heard of the transfer students program? I visit your school, I stay here a little while, ..." he lowered his voice approaching a little to Sora. "...and I screw your friend, of course."

Sora was having a hard time resisting the urge to choke him. "I've heard about it." answered ignoring the last part of the other boy's sentence "but apparently you haven't: you have to request a transfer half a year before the beginning of the semester, so you're like... 8 months late."

Vanitas put a hand on Sora's locker, practically forcing the other boy against it. "Details when you're the favorite nephew of the headmaster of the school: uncle Xemny was really happy that I wanted to spend some time in his school." He smirked. "Not that he had much of a choice when I showed up at his house yesterday. On the other side my cousin didn't look really happy to see me..."

_'This guy is totally crazy'_ "Why? Why are you doing all of this?" Sora started to sound aggressive. A nice way to not show that you're scared.

"Are you dense?" answered coldly Vanitas. "I already told you why: Riku is mine, so no touchie, is that clear?"

"You... I..." Sora's nerves were definitively failing him. "You came here just to tell me this?" He was trying as hard as he could not to sound impressed. Vanitas took a step back at those words.

"Actually there's more." started then completely serious. "You see, Riku talks way too much about you for my tastes."

Sora was sincerely surprised by those words. "He... about me?" murmured incredulous.

"Verily." continued the other boy. "So I think the best option is to... well, take you out of commission."

And with those words Vanitas rapidly grabbed Sora's shirt and pulled the brunet towards him, so fast that Sora had barely the time to see a grin on Vanitas' face before their lips clashed violently. Then, with the same violence, the black-haired boy threw the other boy away, making him bump against his locker.

"I'm sorry, Sora." started then Vanitas with a tone of voice loud enough to be heard by all the people that, after that little show, were inevitably looking at them. "But I don't like you, you can't just kiss me like that." Those words echoed through the perfectly silent crowd of students that was surrounding them, and Sora realized that whatever he could have said wouldn't change the fact that it actually looked like he had just kissed the new boy, who had promptly rejected him.

Sora wiped his mouth with a hand, disgusted. "You bastard! What do you hope to obtain by humiliating me?"

"I'm sorry that you're taking it that bad." quietly answered Vanitas continuing his show. "Look, we can still be friends if you want." Someone whistled from the crowd. Laughs. Then, lowering his voice to be heard only by his interlocutor, Vanitas spoke again. "Just wait till Riku will discover that you've kissed me. As I've said: out of commission!"

Sora had to make an incredible effort not to punch that brat in the face, but he knew it would have only been worse, so he picked the literature book that had fallen to the ground and silently walked towards his class, trying to ignore the comments of the students he had to get through. _'Welcome back school, I suppose...'_

* * *

It's incredible how fast the time pass when you don't want it to. At least that's what Sora thought when the bell announcing the end of the literature class rang. The same bell that was announcing that chemistry class was only fifteen minutes away, with Riku inevitably waiting for him.

Sora entered in prof. Vexen's class 5 minutes before the beginning of the lesson, mainly to take shelter from the venomous comments of the other students. Even if half the class was already in, it was always better than outside. _'Funny how the bravery of people is directly dependent from their number.'_ thought Sora noting that none of the barely 10 students in the room was laughing at him, limiting themselves at jabbering between them while looking at him. He spotted his usual place: Kairi and Riku weren't there, but their things were already on their usual seats. And... Vanitas on his place! Great, that idiot was probably frequenting the same classes as Riku. Sora walked in the direction of the last desks, thinking that anyway he preferred to delay as much as possible the sooner or later inevitable confrontation with Riku. The bell rang precisely when the brunet had ended taking out his things from his bag, with the depressed flow of students entering the room, resigned to the perspective of spending the next 2 hours with prof. Vexen. And Riku too, apparently surprised to see Vanitas on Sora's place. The brunet turned his head on the other side, facing the periodic table on the wall: he preferred not to look at his friend.

"Can I sit here?"

Riku's voice made Sora jump: the silver-haired boy had taken his things and had reached the last desk where he was sat. "O-of course."

The voice of the old professor echoed emptily in Sora's head, focused as he was on his friend. None of them said anything for a while, Riku sat quietly next to him and opened his book. It was only after ten or more minutes during which Sora couldn't understand a single word of prof. Vexen (he wasn't completely sure that he could attribute this to being distracted by Riku, though), he finally talked.

"So, Riku, you... uhm... with Vanitas..."

"I guess I can't deny it anymore, uh?" answered Riku, his eyes still fixed on the blackboard on which the professor was writing some formulas. "Yeah, we're seeing each other." Those words crushed Sora.

"But... but I thought... I mean... all your girls..."

"What about them? Let's just say that I go both ways. I hope this is not a problem for you..." Riku was perfectly controlled as usual, but he had not looked at Sora one single time.

"No, no, of course!" hastily answered the brunet. He was shocked by Riku's apparent nonchalance at admitting that. "I mean... it's just that he..." Sora breathed deeply. "That guy is dangerous! I mean, he followed you here, he acts weird and he..." He thought for a moment of telling his friend what had happened that morning, but he quickly reconsider it, knowing that the truth wasn't believable at all; he just hoped that Riku hadn't heard yet about the 'accident' "I think he doesn't like me." simply concluded in the end.

Riku finally turned his attention on Sora, ignoring prof. Vexen blabbering. Man, since when Sora had started liking so much staring at his friend's beautiful face? "Sora, we've already talked about it." He wasn't angry, more like disappointed. "I don't need you as a bodyguard." Sora hoped that his friend didn't catch him blushing. "I can take care of myself, we'd talked yesterday and he'd already told me that he intended to come here for some time. Besides, he told me that he likes you. I mean, not romantically speaking but..." That left the younger boy really confused. "So I don't really get why you hate him so much. Anyway I told him that that was your place, so next time you won't have to seat here, ok?"

"O-ok." was the only thing that Sora could answer.

The rest of the two hours passed in reciprocate silence. What really bugged Sora was the lunch: Riku had presented to Kairi, Tidus and Selphie his 'something-more-than-friend', who had been so much nice with them that even before starting to eat, Sora had started to dream to torture that hypocrite in the most painful way possible. The absence of Roxas hadn't help the mood of the brunet, that before the end of the lunch, he had taken his bag and had left his friends with an excuse, leaving with Tidus behind him screaming something along the lines of "The car double-parked? Since when do you have a car?" with Selphie replying "Since when does he have a driving license?"

Sora had someone to see, for at least two different reasons no less, but he made the mistake to stop by his locker; the -SORA LOVES RIKU- once written on it had been replaced by a much less cute -SORA IS A WHORE-. On the brink of tears, he put his books in it and slowly started to cross the meadow in the direction of the dormitory.

* * *

**End Notes: **...poor Sora. I can't say anything else, Vanitas is really a manipulator. Oh, well, nobody's perfect :)


	27. Chapter 27: Brightcrest

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Extra Notes: **My apologies for the (removed) April's Fool fake chapter. Here's the real one :).

**Chapter Notes: **If it were not for hope, the heart would break

* * *

**Chapter 27: Brightcrest**

_Monday_

The dormitory was nearly totally empty, but it wasn't that much surprising, considering that it was the beginning of the afternoon of a pleasant day: the autumnal sun was shining in the sky, warm enough to encourage the students to enjoying it. The voice of a lonely brunet, who apparently that day couldn't care less if there was a nice weather outside, echoed in the hall of the building. "Luxord! Are you there?"

No answer, probably the doorkeeper was somewhere else. Sora was already leaving when the small door of the office of the doorkeeper opened. The platinum-blond haired man appeared in the room, peering at Sora with his electric-blue eyes. "Sora. Perfect timing as usual, I need to leave for some minutes but I have a guest. Can you stay with him until I'll be back? It won't take a lot of time and I promise you that when I'll be back I'll offer you my best tea." The poor boy hadn't really the time to react that Luxord had already disappeared, leaving him with no choice but to keep company to the guest of the doorkeeper. He really, really didn't want to see anyone, but considering that Luxord had always been there for him, he thought he could do him that little favor, and so he entered the room.

"Roxas! What are you doing here?"

Roxas, sat in one of the pouffes on the ground, nearly choked at the sight of his brother entering in the office. "Sora! I..." The brunet felt a wave of guiltiness for having been such a dick to him at the party. Sure, he was angry, frustrated and just being kissed by a guy, but that didn't change the fact that he had no reason to jump on them the way he did. He had to apologize! He had to make him understand that he was sorry! He had to...

"Please. Don't despise me."

Roxas' words left the brunet astonished. "Wait! What?" Sora would have expected some harsh words, a kick, maybe... anything but that; he looked at his brother shocked. "Despise you? But..."

"You're right, I'm sorry." started the blond boy slowly, eyes fixed on the red carpet. "I don't know what happened, we were there and Axel just... I shouldn't have, but... you know, nobody had ever kissed me before, it just felt... great. It's pathetic and I'm sorry, brother, but please, just don't hate me."

Sora take a moment to pull himself together, then he sat in front of his brother, forcing him to look at him.

"Now listen to me, you idiot!" Roxas looked a little surprised by the reaction of his brother, but he didn't move. "First of all: I've already told you that I am fine with you being gay." He felt a little shiver down his spine and was sure his brother had felt the same: there was something in the way he had said it that had stated it clearly, but there wasn't shame or embarrassment, just acceptation. "Second: My bro is the toughest guy I know, so stop acting like a sissy, 'cause my brother isn't one." "But..." "The fact that you like boys doesn't mean you're a girl, so pull yourself together, stop whining and punch your brother in the face 'cause he deserves it for what he did to you." Sora was relieved to see the outline of a smile forming on Roxas' face. "Which brings me to the third point." He paused for a moment, then resumed the talk again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... well, intervened in what was going on. I just wanted..." Now it was Sora's turn to look at the ground, feeling really stupid for what he was going to say, but still determined to say it. "I just wanted to protect you!"

No reaction from Roxas. The outline of that smile froze on his face. For 5 whole seconds at least, then he moved.

"Ouch!" Sora's face had been hit by Roxas' fist, not really hard, but enough for the brunet to react. "I was talking metaphorically!"

"Oh really?" answered the blond badly faking surprise. "I didn't really wanted to punch you, but I thought you could feel offended if I didn't do it..."

"Nice to see that you're the same childish trouble-maker who punch first and ask later." retorted Sora massaging his face.

"...says the whiny-crying-weakling brother that annoys me with his girlish speech."

"I missed you, Roxas!"

"Me too, Sora!"

* * *

"What? I can't believe it! That Vanitas is a real jerk!" exclaimed Roxas. Sora was particularly thankful that at least his brother would believe his story. "We have to search for him and teach him not to mess with you. You've an idea about why he wants to ruin your reputation?"

Sora gulped. He had intentionally glossed over the Riku part of the story, but he knew it had come out sooner or later. "No violence, it would only makes things worse." Before giving Roxas the time to object, Sora continued. "He'll just go around telling everyone that I sent my brother aggressing him and I would be for everyone a vile and a coward. As for the the reasons behind his behavior... actually he... he thinks that I like his 'boyfriend'." He spelled that word with a particular disdain. "And... he thinks that Riku... well, that he likes me..."

Roxas hadn't said a single word, he had listened very carefully and, most important of all, he hadn't laughed at him, and Sora was really thankful for that. "And... that's not true, right?"

The brunet react immediately, midway through offended and embarrassed. "Of course not! I mean... Riku maybe... Not the way I..." His brother was strangely calm and quiet and that makes Sora relax a bit. "Ok, Rox: I actually thought that Riku liked me, but now... I don't know, if that was true it wouldn't have started to hang out with that creepy guy, am I right?" Sora blushed a little when he realized that there was a trace of hope in his voice. Hope that his brother would tell him that he was wrong.

"I... don't know, I guess you're right." Noting his brother saddening, Roxas talked again. "Then again, I suppose that he could have just chose Vanitas to make you jealous." At Sora's little, nearly imperceptible smile, the blond boy couldn't help but ask a question. "Sora, don't take it bad, but are you sure that you don't like Riku?"

"I don't know, Roxas. Seriously, I don't know." answered the brunet sincerely. "But I'm sure of this: I want Vanitas away from Riku!"

Roxas hadn't the time to react, though, because the door of the office opened, announcing Luxord comeback. "Sorry not to have had the time to properly greet you before, how are you doing, Sora?" asked the doorkeeper while closing the door behind him.

"I find quite suspect how you had a sudden commitment just right when my brother came here, you know?" answered Roxas with a smirk ignoring Luxord's question.

The man touched his goatee, calmly. "No use fretting the absence of others. They simply lose this round by no-show." Whatever: the twins knew that if Luxord didn't want to admit something he wouldn't have done it anyway. "By the way, I hadn't the time to ask you before, Roxas, there was something that you wanted to discuss with me?"

The blond boy smiled and looked at his brother. "Not anymore, Luxord. Thanks anyway."

"Very nice." answered a not at all surprised Luxord. "What about you, Sora? You came here for some reasons, I suppose?"

Sora's face clouded over. "Yes, actually. I needed to ask you... what do you know about the new boy who has come today?" He didn't really know what to expect from Luxord, but he was sure that the doorkeeper already knew that Vanitas had come to their school."  
The blond man took one of the pouffes; the three of them were now sat around the little table where a teapot was standing.

"Ah, the principal's nephew." Of course he already knew. "There's not a lot that I can tell you about him, I just know that he has a reputation that makes Seifer looks cuddling. Tea?"

"Thanks. What do you mean by that?" asked Roxas, evidently concerned for his brother.

Luxord started to pour some tea in a teacup. "Well, I suppose that if a friend of mine had hypothetically sent me the reports of his old school, a thing that is not possible because it would be illegal," Sora and Roxas looked at each other chuckling. "I'd know that he has a list of infractions far longer that anyone I've ever seen." That didn't surprise the brunet in the least: he had already had the occasion to see how unscrupulous that guy was. "I can give you an advice, though." Luxord looked intensely at Sora more serious than ever. "Only a fool bends to the cards. We shape our fates through action." At the perplexed gaze of the two boys, the doorkeeper let escape a little laugh. "I'll let you think about it. Anything else?"

Sora's face morphed into a smile. "Yeah. There is something else." Roxas looked at him even more perplexed. "I think that, somehow, you are the reason why Hayner and Pence never told anyone about my brother's... sexual preferences. Am I right?"

Luxord didn't answer immediately. Then he looked at Roxas who was fixing him, eyes widened and mouth opened. "To think there are people who consider you a dull boy, Sora..." Sora wasn't sure if that was meant to be a praise or a critic. "I mean, I suppose it's possible that when Roxas told me what happened, I could have hypothetically provided Axel with some dirt on those two boys and send him to blackmail them, but, aside from being incredibly convoluted, it would have been absolutely unethical from my position. I'm sure you understand that..." The blond man was absolutely controlled, but Sora was sure that he had guessed right.

"Of course..." murmured Roxas, still surprised by Sora's revelation. "Aside from Olette, you were the only one I talked to about that story. And Axel let slip out that he didn't know me before that."

"Precisely my thoughts." added Sora particularly proud that, for once, he had been smarter than his brother.

Luxord laughed openly at those words. "What can I say? That redhead has always had a big mouth. But he has always been someone I could count on for some... particular works. And you should note that I'm not admitting that I was implicated."

"Well, I suppose that if you were, I would thank you." simply answered Roxas quietly.

"My opinion is that everyone has the right to deal with certain things when he feels like doing it, not when others decide for him. And when the truth is out, you can't take it back. It's like a game: sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Of course, this isn't a game that lets a gentleman lose twice..."

* * *

"Thank you, Sora. I really owe you one for... making me see." said Roxas once the twins were out of the office.

"Shut up. After what I've done to you, you owe me nothing." answered Sora, still ashamed of his behaviour during the weekend.

"So... you're cool if... if I see Axel again?" asked timidly but hopefully Roxas.

"Hey, you don't need to ask me permission for that, right?" answered Sora a little surprised.

"Yeah, I mean... I suppose I don't. But still I'd like to know that my brother is fine with this."

And for all the bad things that Sora had experienced that day, the brunet found himself completely happy.

* * *

**End Notes: **I'll close soon the poll on my profile page for the pairing on which to base my next story, so if someone wants to give his/her opinion... do it quickly; surprisingly, there are two pairings who are quite close (one was to be expected, the other... not at all). Anyway, a little longer than usual chapter to make up for the fake one, hope you've enjoyed it, reviews are always appreciated, if not see ya next week :).


	28. Chapter 28: Lionheart

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore

* * *

**Chapter 28: Lionheart**

_Tuesday_

Kairi gave a perplexed look at the twins sat next to her on the roof of the gym, the words of prof. Lexaeus flowing in the background. The professor had a leg plaster that day, Sora wondered if Saïx was somehow implicated... "I don't know, Sora. Maybe you're just exaggerating a little."

Sora had expected that kind of reaction: after all he hadn't told to the redhead girl all the details about Vanitas. Actually he had told her little more than 'it's a bad guy, trust me!'. "Kairi, I can't tell you more, but you have to trust me: we have to make Riku break up with that guy!" The brunet could hear his brother grumble on his left.

"It's incredible how Riku has managed to hide us that for so much. The fact he likes boys, I mean." muttered the redhead girl to herself before speaking again to the brunet. "You know, it really looks like you're jealous of Riku..." _'Thank you very much, Kairi. Always so subtle and delicate.'_

Sora hadn't the time to retort, though, 'cause Roxas, evidently irritated talked in his place. "Come on, bro! If you don't say it, I'll do it in your place."

"Roxas. Do you have a question?" The voice of prof. Lexaeus was loud and clear. Everybody shut up immediately.

"Eh? Uh, no-no. It's all clear, thanks." lied the blond boy trying to understand what the professor was talking about.

"Fine, split into 2 teams, then." After realizing that the professor wasn't talking specifically with him anymore, Roxas relaxed a little. "You and your brother on the opposite sides, please." Ok, now he was talking to him.

While moving on one side of the gym, Sora felt the disappointed gaze of Kairi on him. "Why can't you just trust me?" For Sora, if the girl would have thrown him a brick it would have been less suffering.

"I... I trust you." tried to reply the brunet not sounding convincing at all. Not to himself, at least.

"If that's so, then tell me everything." Before Sora could answer 'you wouldn't believe me', Kairi added "I'll believe you." And the brunet chose to believe her.

* * *

Sora intercepted a ball in mid-air and quickly threw it at someone he recognized being on his team. "What are we playing, Tidus?" murmured Sora when his friend was close enough to hear him.

"Who cares about this, Sora!" answered the boy a little upset. "Why didn't you tell us sooner that Vanitas guy kissed you?" Sora found interesting how saying a thing to Kairi meant saying it to all of their friends in a matter of minutes. But he also found reassuring that none of them was doubting his words.

"Aside from the fact that I wasn't sure you would have believed me? Outing my best friend wasn't really nice... but apparently he doesn't care at all about it, so..." At the interrogative expression of Tidus, Sora looked at him grumbling "I still won't tell you what happened during the weekend." Riku was one thing, but his brother deserved his privacy, and he couldn't talk about the first without outing the second.

"Whatever. What you've told us about what happened here is more than enough: we've to..."

"Sora! Tidus! What are you doing?" A deep, imperious voice startled the two boys. They looked behind them to see the rest of the class aligned at the center of the gym chuckling at them.

"When the two of you will reach your places we'll restart the match." Prof. Lexaeus sounded more annoyed than ever. Sora, by that time more annoyed than really bothered by the punctual sexual remarks directed at him and Tidus, mimicked the position of his team and the match started again, leaving Sora once again to wonder what game they were actually playing.

* * *

The cafeteria was full of people as usual. That didn't particularly bother the brunet, who was more than happy that the crowd of people was hiding Riku and Vanitas, sat just three tables next to theirs. And still he had spent nearly all of the lunch time trying to take a glimpse of the two.

"Ignore them, for now." suggested Tidus eating his meal "We should focus on what to do to show Riku what kind of bastard Vanitas is."

"Should we really do it?" At the unexpected question, the surprised Sora, Roxas, Tidus and Kairi looked at Selphie. "Do not get me wrong, he's a really bad guy" specified the girl as to justify her words "but Riku looks happy with him, maybe we should just let him make the most of it."

"Absolutely not!" objected immediately Sora nearly shouting; given the noise in the cafeteria, none paid attention to him, though. "He's just playing with him, he'll break his heart" Realizing the girlishness of his sentence, a flush started to grow on his face, but he continued to talk "and I won't just accept it."

"Sora." The gentle, yet imperious tone of Kairi caught immediately the attention of the brunet. "Just take a second and look at them objectively." Sora rolled his eyes, but he swung his chair back a little to have a look at the table on which his best friend and his nemesis were sat together. Vanitas was talking with his insufferable grin on his face, while Riku was eating slowly, listening to him. Sora couldn't hear what the black-haired guy was saying, but Riku didn't look much interested. And when their eyes met, Sora turned immediately the head the other way, uselessly pretending to look at something else.

"He doesn't look really happy, if you want my opinion." said the brunet a little irritated to the two girls.

"Or maybe you're just jealous of Riku?" said nonchalantly Kairi causing the surprise of all the table. Even Tidus stopped eating and looked surprised at him.

Sora answered quietly but firmed. "Yeah, shout it louder! It's not like we're in the middle of a hundred of students." He knew that none had probably heard her, though.

"It's true, then?" Apparently Selphie was feeling the need to add his opinion. "Oh, Sora, it's so cute."

"It's true, Sora?" And Tidus too.

"We... we didn't think that you..." Even Kairi looked caught by surprise by Sora's evasive answer.

"Hey, hey, wait a sec, it's not exactly like that, it's more like..." But Sora couldn't end his sentence because half of the cafeteria bursted into laughs. Just perfect: they should have heard them. Something was strange, though; they weren't laughing at him, they were looking at another point of the room. All of Sora's friends moved to look at what was so interesting to catch the attention of the bunch of teenagers. None of them laughed.

Riku was still sat on his place, paralyzed. And damp from head to toe, a little pool of water around his feet. Behind him, Seifer was holding an empty bucket with an amused expression painted on his face, his two lackeys on his side, laughing maniacally like nearly anyone else around them.

"Did you really think that after our last encounter I would have let you go away?" hissed Seifer, loud enough to be heard over the general laughter.

Sora found himself clenching his fists: what angered him the most wasn't the blond idiot who had found amusing to throw a bucket of water at his best friend, nor the ignorant guys who were finding that so entertaining. What really maddened him was that amongst the people that were laughing at Riku was Vanitas. At last until the moment Seifer spotted him.

"What's so funny, new kid? You're the next faggot on my list!" Ok, Seifer clearly didn't know who Vanitas was nephew of. The black-haired boy stopped laughing immediately, glaring at Seifer so intensely that the blond boy took a step back despite Vanitas being on the other side of the table.

"How-did-you-call-me?" hissed slowly Vanitas standing up and starting to walk in the direction of Seifer. Riku, who hadn't budged an inch till that moment, started to look around him with his usual inscrutable expression. Between the reaction of the two boys, nobody was laughing anymore; they looked like feral beasts, ready to jump on whoever was stupid enough to give them an excuse to do it. Sora had to admit to himself that, at least for that, the two of them were pretty well paired. Vanitas didn't had the time to do anything, though, because, surprisingly enough, Roxas had already moved in towards Seifer.

"What's your problem, idiot?" Roxas was livid, Sora simply astonished. Was he... standing up for Riku, the guy that he couldn't just stand? After all, he wasn't surely doing it for Vanitas...

"The nancy boy just took a shower. What do you want, Roxas?" answered Seifer intimidatingly yet cautiously; not even him could ignore Roxas' reputation of being a brawler.

"So that's it?" retorted the younger boy with an aggressiveness surprising even for him "Let's humiliate him just 'cause he likes guys. Well, I like guys too, you know? Hit me, if you find it so amusing!" The cafeteria was filled with a deafening silence. Seifer was displaying an incredibly idiotic expression, clearly unable to tell if Roxas was serious or not, and Vanitas was looking at the blond twin with an expression that Sora couldn't qualify. He went with 'interested', after repulsing 'sexually attracted' in the back of his mind. "It's interesting to see how much idiots find you amusing, though." Someone glared at him, some others started confabulating between them.

"Oh, my! We've got to stop Roxas before he gets himself killed." whispered Tidus to Sora.

"No!" firmly answered the brunet remembering Luxord's words "Let him do his way. Just get ready to brawl."

"Come on, kid, we all know why you are saying this." A grin started to form on Seifer's face. "Or is it a coincidence that your brother likes to take it up his..." Sora couldn't tell who was faster to react between Roxas or Riku, but Seifer found himself immediately aggressed by the two boys. That, of course, caused the consequent reaction of Rai and Fuu, who in turn caused the reaction of Sora, Tidus and Vanitas. They needed a professor, 2 janitors and all of the employees of the cafeteria to stop the 8-people fight, which, however, ended with just 7 people sat in the hallway just out of the principal's office, that sneaky little bastard of Vanitas having probably slipped away at some moment or the other during the confusion.

"Sora! You can enter!" announced the speaker with the deep voice of headmaster Xemnas.

The last thing the brunet heard before entering in the office were some murmured words from Roxas.

"Good luck, bro."

* * *

**End Notes: **It should be pretty clear to whom the title of this chapter is dedicated, right? Right? Well, I hope so... Another longer than usual chapter, anyway. The poll will be closed at the end of the week, I doubt the winner will change, but I'm thinking of doing a double pairing story and there are two couples who are pretty close, so you've still time to give your opinion. Bye.


	29. Chapter 29: Darker than Dark

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **Hope for the best, expect the worst.

* * *

**Chapter 29: Darker than Dark**

_Tuesday_

"Sit down!"

Sora obeyed immediately: headmaster Xemnas' as deep as emotionless usual voice had left the place to a nervous, nearly angry tone that was making him appear even more intimidating. The white, nearly totally empty room added to the usual state of distress that accompanied every student unfortunate enough to be called to that office. When the principal lifted his eyes from the documents on his desk, Sora jumped at the sight of the quiet fury behind those yellow eyes.

"Sora!" started Xemnas, spelling the name of his guest nearly disgusted "I'm a patient man, but you're pushing me past my limits." The possibility of being seriously expelled from the school rapidly started to concretize inside the mind of the brunet.

"Sir, I can assure that I'm not implicated in this fight! I was just trying to..."

"Silence!" By the way the headmaster had shouted those words, totally dropping the perfectly calm and controlled facade that had always characterized him, Sora understood that he'd better shut up immediately. "Do you seriously think that I care about these childish brawl?" The sophomore student looked at the black-coated man with a mix of surprise and fear. If he didn't care about the fight, why he and his friends waiting outside were there? "This fight only happened before I had the possibility to summon you here." Sora wondered if the principal was able to read minds. He would've laughed about it, if he wasn't outright scared.

"I tried to make you understand the situation by fair means. I gave you time to accept it." Sora was at a complete loss about what headmaster Xemnas was talking about. "I even allowed you to continue see your friends despite my warnings." The brunet would have thought that man had surely an interesting way to interpret things if he wasn't completely disgusted by what he was hearing. "And yet..." The principal paused, Sora gulped.

"And yet you ditched him! Why?"

The silence of the principal made Sora understand that he wanted an answer, but he just couldn't figure out what that crazy man was talking about. And then a spark of realization hit his mind.

"Wait... you're... you're talking about Saïx?"

Xemnas stood up, regaining his composure. He started to walk slowly around his desk, without saying a word. When he talked again, he was facing directly Sora, surely too close for the brunet to feeling comfortable.

"You want to do it this way? Fine, we'll do it your way, then. Now you'll go out of here, you'll search for Saïx, you'll tell him that you're sorry and you'll stay with him for as long as he wants. Is that clear enough?"

Sora was speechless. He was finally starting to realize, like a puzzle whose pieces were just starting to fit together: the organized date with Saïx, his own mysterious acquittance from the accusations when a weekend with the principal's son was prospected, the injunction to Riku to stay away from him, all parts of a plan to put him together with Saïx.

"I said: is that clear?" repeated Xemnas without budging an inch.

"I... I can't..." tried to reply Sora more scared than ever.

"You can and you will do it!" shouted the tall man "Otherwise I assure you that I've plenty of excuses to expel you from this school!" Luckily for Sora, Xemnas walked away from him and reached his chair again. "Just as I will do now with your friends outside that door! Take it as an incentive to stop opposing me!"

Sora panicked: of course, he wouldn't have expelled him until he was friendly with Saïx, but he thought immediately to Tidus and Roxas. Riku was probably safe because of his 'close friendship' with the principal's nephew. In a moment of courage, he found the strength to react.

"How... how am I supposed to... You... How can you ask me to... you, heartless..." said in a feeble voice, trying to resist the urge to avoid Xemnas' cruel yellow eyes.

"Heartless?" asked the principal clearly amused by the statement "Very good. You don't miss a thing. I cannot feel... sorrow... No matter what misery befalls you. No matter what you think, what you feel, or how you exist." Then, regaining his usual composure, the headmaster looked away from the shivering brunet and back to the papers on the desk. "Now that this matter has been settled, you can go. Send in your friend Tidus."

Sora took some interminable seconds to realize that he had to go out: when he finally stood up, he started to slowly walk in the direction of the door. And then he turned back.

"If... if I may, sir?" started quietly Sora, trying to restrain himself as much as he could. "Could you just... just spare... the others?" The principal didn't answer, nor did he look at the brunet. "If... if I do what you've asked me..." He was paying a particular care to the choice of the words. Xemnas finally lifted once more his eyes but he still didn't answer. "Will you... will you let them go?"

The headmaster talked slowly, in a nearly conspiratorially tone. "I have your word that you'll do it?"

For Sora, every word pronounced was a real affliction. He thought at the consequences of what he was going to say: for some reason the image of Riku flashed in his mind; if only he could have had the possibility to tell him that he... "You have it! I'll do it!" answered the brunet, broken but firm, determined to cast away all the thoughts that could make him change his mind.

Xemnas smiled viciously. "Then, when you'll do it, I'll consider the possibility of reintegrating your friends. The question is closed, have a nice day."

And the boy exited the room without another word. When Roxas asked him if he was fine, he knew that he had to tell him that he was to be expelled. When the brunet didn't answer and Tidus asked him the same thing, he knew that his friend was going to meet the same fate. When Riku talked to him, he knew that he had to say him goodbye, at least if he wanted to have a possibility to save the two boys. He knew all of that, and what hurt him more was that he was the only one to blame. Gathering all the courage he had left, he told them about the expulsion. They didn't say anything, immediately. Then Roxas smiled and told him not to worry about that; Tidus was too pale to do the same, but Sora was sure that he wanted to do the same. And that make him feel even worse, 'cause he knew that he didn't deserve the sympathy of his friends.

"You... you have to go in, Tidus. He wants to see you." managed to murmur the boy with a feeble voice.

"I'm sorry, Sora. We'll find a solution, you'll see." Riku's voice was comprehensive, but Sora knew that his friend couldn't do anything to change the situation. Unfortunately, the brunet knew that he was the only one who could do something. The three boys sat again on the chairs out of the principal's office, paying attention to keep the distances from Seifer and his gang that were confabulating between them on a short distance waiting for the principal to call them in.

"Why did you do it?" The question came out abruptly from Riku just a few seconds later. Sora didn't understand what his friend was talking about, then he realized that he was talking to Roxas. "Why did you stood up for me?" Sora had wanted to ask him the same thing, everybody knew that Roxas and Riku didn't go along very well, not to say they barely tolerated each other, then why the blond boy had defended his friend?

"Who told you that I did it for you?" coldly answered Roxas barely looking at the upperclassman.

"Don't play me for a fool, you clearly didn't do it for Vanitas." At the hearing of that name, Sora instinctively clenched his fists: he was the only one that could have informed Xemnas of what had happened that weekend with Saïx, putting him and his friends in that situation. Riku probably caught sight of Sora's reaction, but anyway he decided to ignore it. "So?"

"I... I was just searching for an excuse to punch that idiot's face!" answered Roxas, loud enough to be heard by Seifer who apparently preferred to ignore the provocation. Sora judged it a wise choice, considering how bad his brother and Riku had messed up his face.

"Fine. Thanks, then." quietly answered Riku, never letting go his serious demeanor.

"Thanks? Are you deaf? I told you that I didn't do it for you!" remarked a nearly offended Roxas "And anyway..." added then lowering his voice "I think that none deserve to be treated that way."

Sora smiled.

* * *

**End Notes: **The poll is closed and the results are on my profile page, if you want to see on which pairing my new story will be based on, check it out. As for this chapter, well, I hope you've enjoyed it and that he has clarified a bit Xemnas' real motivations. Have fun, next time: Saïx.


	30. Chapter 30: Counterpoint

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native english speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **Do the right thing: it will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

* * *

**Chapter 30: Counterpoint**

_Tuesday_

It was nearly 6pm when Sora could finally come back to his room, after an exhausting day of classes that the boy, strictly controlled by headmaster Xemnas, wasn't allowed to miss. When he finally opened the door of his room he found Roxas, Tidus and Riku inside, busy discussing, most certainly about what had happened that day. They all shut up when the boy came in.

"Hey, Sora." Tidus sadly said trying to outline a smile.

"Hi. Uh... so..." the brunet answered, feeling the urge to ask but not knowing how to do it.

"Yes, I've been expelled." Tidus murmured lowering his eyes on the floor. Sora felt like an invisible punch hitting him in the stomach; aside from the fact that it was because of him that he had been expelled, it was also because of his aggression the week before that he had received his second disciplinary letter, putting him in that risky situation.

"Tidus, I..." the brunet started before being brutally interrupted by both Tidus and Roxas.

"Don't even start, Sora!" Tidus was now fixing his friend, no hate, no despise, not even rage in his look. "We know it's not your fault, I've received my second disciplinary letter and I'm sure that at the first occasion I'll receive my third. But we don't don't blame you." Roxas concluded. _'Whew, at least my bro isn't out of the school. Yet.'_

"But... what about you?" Sora asked looking at the silver-haired boy that had remained silent till that moment.

"Actually, the headmaster... he just told me that he 'appreciated' my new frequentations and he encouraged me to stay away from you." Riku answered calmly.

"He... and that's all?" Sora was incredulous.

"Well, yes." Riku smiled a little. "If you exclude when I told him to shut up 'cause I'll never stop frequenting you. My best friend." Riku added quickly at the gaze that Roxas gave him. Sora and Tidus were simply too shocked to notice it, anyway.

"You just..."

"Really?"

"Yeah, well..." Riku started in a nearly apologetical tone. "It's not difficult to act like that when you know that you won't get in any trouble for dating the principal's nephew." Second gaze from Roxas. "Anyway, you still haven't told us what the principal told you." The ability of the silver-haired boy to change subject was a thing that would have always earned him Sora's admiration.

"I... uhm..." He paused, knowing that nor Riku, nor Tidus and surely not his brother would have ever accepted his decision to officially date Saïx. He could have lied to them, like telling them that the headmaster had just put him in detention, and they would have probably believed it. Or at least pretended to do so. It wouldn't even have been a real lie, more like an omission; like when he chose not to tell them about Seifer's first aggression... But then he remembered how things worked out in the end: they had discovered about it, and a black eye is easier to hide than a gay relationship. And thinking about it, when Roxas had discovered about his black eye, Sora had begged him to not ask about it and his brother had surprisingly respected that. And he had done the same when the truth had come out, promising not to take initiatives against Seifer. And not only him: Riku and Tidus had also shown him that he could trust them, more than once and just in the last few days. And so, despite knowing to be a bad choice, he chose to do the correct thing.

"You still there, Sora?" Riku asked at the brunet lost in his thoughts.

"I'll go out with Saïx." Sora talked slowly, his words came out trembling, but he was resolute. He caught a nearly imperceptible movement of Riku, but the silver-haired boy didn't say anything.

"Wait... it's a joke? That's what the principal ordered you?" Roxas' anger was starting to feel palpable. He filled the few inches that were between him and the brunet and took him by the shoulders. "You are not serious! Tell me you aren't really going out with that freak!"

"He... he's not a freak! I'm sure that... all of this isn't his fault!" Sora tried to react freeing himself from Roxas' grip.

"Wake up, Sora! You can't always think that people are good! He has clearly organized all with his dear dad! You can't..."

"He loves me!" The words were out before Sora could take them back. And they left Roxas speechless. Not Riku, though.

"What does that's supposed to mean?" The upperclassman asked, probably no more being able to restrain himself. Sora took a step back, while trying to find a way to change what he had just said. "I... I didn't mean what I said..." Yeah, great work, he thought.

It appeared clear that Roxas and Tidus wanted to know more about that, especially considering that he had told none that the senior had tried to kiss him. Or, more precisely, that he actually kissed him. They didn't get the chance to ask their questions, though, 'cause there was another boy that was monopolizing him and, despite never having been particularly gifted in maths, Sora quickly realized, after have seen that Riku was taking two steps forward for every step that he was taking back, that he would have been quickly cornered by his best friend. Which happened some seconds later, more precisely at the precise moment when his foot clashed against the wardrobe decorated with the black and white compositions of his brother and Riku was at an inch of distance from him at best. "You like Saïx?"

"Riku! Let me out of here!" For as much as he had sometimes desired to, Sora had never been intimidating at all and Riku often liked to take advantage of that fact.

"Answer me, first!" Sora struggled to sustain the gaze of those two cold aquamarine shards who had always been so much beautifully scaring.

"Why do you care?" Sora answered as much convincing as possible. And it wasn't true that his voice came out a little high-pitched.

"Let him go, Riku!" Roxas ordered somewhere behind the tall boy, a shade of irritation in his voice.

Riku answered without moving the slightest. "I'm not even touching him!" Sora realized that his friend wasn't effectively in physical contact with him. Then why he felt so oppressed? "I care! Now answer me!"

"Why do you care?" Sora repeated again, a little more manly this time. Just a little. "You have your boyfriend, let me live my life!"

That sentence had a certain effect on Riku, 'cause he immediately gave Sora's personal space back to his owner. The strange thing was that the upperclassman's absence in it scared him more than his presence had done until that moment. "I don't like him, anyway. Not that way at least." Sora was quick to add in what looked like some kind of apology.

Tidus take some steps towards the brunet, effectively taking the place occupied by Riku just a few seconds before. "Sora. I know you're doing this, at least partly, for me and I appreciate it, but you can't go out with a boy just because of that bastard." 'The bastard' certainly being Xemnas, Sora figured.

"I'm not asking permission to you three!" Sora finally gathered enough courage to speak his mind. "I knew you wouldn't have liked it, but I told you anyway 'cause I wanted to be honest! I just want you to respect my decision even if you don't like it!"

Nobody objected at that. For the first three seconds at least, then Riku talked, his usual calm demeanor. "I don't care!"

Sora, Roxas and Tidus looked at him surprised, but he continued to talk. "Maybe it isn't the right thing to do and maybe it isn't respectful towards you. But you know what? I don't give it a shit! Maybe you'll hate me for this, but I won't let you do the stupidest thing of your life." And just before going out of the room he looked again at the brunet and added some last words. "And just for the record, Vanitas isn't my boyfriend!"

Just before the door closed in front of him, Sora managed to mutter some words. "But... you said..."

"That I'm going out with him. Nothing more, nothing less." Riku, already out of sight, stated quickly while closing the door.

Sora spent the following 10 minutes in a nearly catatonic state, trying to put all of his thoughts into place. During this time, Roxas and Tidus were probably talking to him, but for all his efforts, he couldn't just follow their discussions. And then he suddenly shook off and walked out of the room, leaving behind the other two boys astonished.

_'I'm sorry, Riku, but I have to.' _Sora thought the second before knocking at Saïx's door.

* * *

**End Notes: **My apologies for being so late with a new chapter, social life is taking all my time... Aw, who would believe it, anyway: I've received a PSP from a friend of mine, so I'm spending nearly all of my time with Birth by Sleep. I like to call it "professional updating", though. Anyway, now I'm back to my usual schedule, I just hope followers and reviewers won't get too angry for me being a geek (anyway I'm sure I'm not alone in here ;). Till next Monday.


	31. Chapter 31: Wayward Wind

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native English speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **Never have regrets, follow your heart.

* * *

**Chapter 31: Wayward Wind**

_Tuesday_

_'Come on, Sora, you can do it.'_

When the door opened, Sora meet Axel's green eyes.

"What are you doing here?" was the first thing that Sora immediately exclaimed, if possible even more surprised than the senior boy.

"Eh, I was going to ask you the same thing." Axel answered regaining his usual confidence. "I live here, didn't you know?"

Sora felt incredibly stupid: of course Saïx had to have a roommate, but he didn't even thought that it could be Axel. That clearly complicated things, considering how badly he had parted ways with the seniors. "I... uh..."

He didn't had the time to add anything else, though, 'cause Axel turned his head and shouted at the inside of the room. "Saïx, Larx, guess who has come to see us."

_'Great. So Larxene is here too...' _For a moment, Sora seriously considered going back from where he had came. He couldn't do it because Saïx immediately appeared behind Axel.

"Sora?! I wanted to search for you, come in." The blue-haired boy was unusually kind for his standards, but the brunet didn't gave it much attention and obeyed. Their room was nearly identical to his, except for the absence of a desk and something like twenty posters picturing some old rock bands nearly completely covering the walls. Oh, and clothes everywhere with Larxene laying somewhere between them reading a book. 'Marquis de Sade: the genius of passion' to be more precise.

"Uh... Hi, Larxene." Sora started shyly, fearing retaliation after their last talk.

"Oh, the princess. How are you doing? Take a seat." Larxene said without lifting her eyes from the book but moving a hand pointing one of the two bed of the room.

Sora had never liked to lie, but he couldn't confess her that he was feeling like shit, so he simply answered "I... uhm... fine, thanks."

The successive hour would have been a real struggle for Sora: Axel would have talked about all and nothing, it looked like he had a story for every argument Larxene could touch. She had a bad opinion of someone? Short summary of that guy's biography. She had taken a bad note? A philippic about the abuse of power of the professors, an argument that Sora knew pretty well, on top of that. But for all his efforts he couldn't find an occasion to talk privately with Saïx. Instead he realized that nor Axel nor Larxene were holding a grudge against him, and that surprised him the most. To the point that he couldn't resist the urge to interrupt Axel in the middle of a passionating speech about... whatever he was talking about.

"You are not mad at me?" the brunet asked, midway through surprised and inquisitorial.

"Why should we?" Saïx asked, finally taking the floor after nearly a hour of silence.

Axel put his hands on his hips standing up in front of the younger boy. "Just for having publicly insulted me? Come on, no big deal. Or maybe for having interrupted me banging your brother?"

Sora stiffened at those words. "You weren't..."

"Because you interrupted me." Realizing that Sora's left arm was nervously strangulating the pillow of the bed he was sat on, Axel took a more kind tone. "Hey, I am just joking, kiddo. You were right, after all." At those words, Sora relaxed a little. "At the beginning I just took advantage of you to get closer to your brother." The brunet, who had already guessed that, didn't show any reaction. "But then I've got to admit that I've really started to appreciate you. Your way of living life, just following your heart." Sora caught with an eye Larxene rolling his eyes and sarcastically pretending to play a violin. "Thanks, Larx!" Axel added.

"That's... incredibly convoluted, if you ask me..." Sora commented sincerely. "Why not going directly to my brother?"

Axel spoke with a nearly unnatural calm. "Well, Saïx took the direct approach with you and it didn't work really well, isn't it?" A blush appeared on the brunet's face.

"And why should I be mad at you? Just because you grew a pair for once?" Luckily, Larxene interrupted, referring to the little skirmish the two of them had had.

"And I want to tell you that we all think that her hairstyle is ridiculous."

"I don't accept comments by someone with that hair color, Saïx."

"Nah, I find it fine. They have the exact same color of my slippers."

"Shut up, pincushion!"  
And Sora left them all speechless bursting into laugh, finally realizing the kind of relationship existing between the seniors. Then Saïx spoke again.

"Guys!" He started looking at Axel and Larxene. "Can you leave us alone?"

Axel and Larxene exchanged a glance. "Sure, do you have condoms?" "Hey, nothing on my bed, uh?"

It looked like Sora was trying to blend in with the red bedcover he was sat on. "I'm sorry if it came out as a question, I'll try to be more explicit: get the hell out of here!" Once again, Sora found himself surprised at the emotionless tone that Saïx's voice had taken once more.

"So, why are you really here?"

The two boys were alone, now: Sora, sat on what apparently was Axel's bed, was discovering that all the decisiveness he had gathered beforehand was irremediably lost somewhere in the middle of Axel's speech; Saïx, on the other way, who had chosen to take place next to the clearly embarrassed younger boy, appeared to be totally unconcerned about what had happened between them.

"I... I..." And then Sora found himself unable to say another word. After a moment of panic, he decided for the worst and slid towards the other boy, quickly putting his lips on Saïx's. It was a slow kiss, 'cause Sora knew that the longer he could prolong that moment, the more he could avoid facing Saïx. It was the older boy, however, that surprisingly, interrupted it abruptly.

"You're crying." Calmly Saïx told, a statement more than a question.

Sora didn't even tried to deny. "It's... it's nothing, I am sorry." The other boy wasn't satisfied with that answer, though.

"I'll ask you again. Why are you really here?"

"You... I... I..." He knew that he just had to say that he wanted to stay with him, but for as much as he tried, Sora just couldn't spit out those damn words. He wasn't even trying anymore to stop his tears, feeling them rolling over his cheeks. He was on the verge of a nervous breakdown when Saïx told him to shut up and hugged him, in a brotherly way this time, and the brunet pushed away any doubt that Saïx could be implicated in Xemnas' machinations telling him all that had happened with his father.

"You're an idiot, Sora!" The brunet lifted his wet eyes to face Saïx. "You would have really do that to save your friends, isn't it? How could you think that I would have accepted a thing like that?" Sora tried to mutter something but Saïx lifted a hand to shut him up. "I like you. I really do, but there's no way I'd want a boyfriend that doesn't love me back. We'll find another solution for your friends, don't worry." Sora suddenly felt a lot better at those words, Saïx looked away, thoughtful. "My d... The headmaster needs a lesson. And we should do something about my cousin too, I'm sure that he's the one who clued him with all that has happened recently."

Sora was surprised. "But... I thought that everything that happened at Terra's stayed in that house..."

"Ah, you don't know Vanitas at all, then. He doesn't care about anything, rules over all. He's already started to blackmail us, menacing to outing us all, in exchange of various favors."

"What... kind of 'favors'?" Sora asked, not sure that he wanted to know the answer.

"Nothing that bad, don't worry. Homeworks for the most part... for now. But that guy has no limit, we've got to do something soon." Riku away from Vanitas. Not a bad idea at all, the brunet thought, smiling for a moment, then quickly falling back to the harsh reality.

"Yeah, but... what can we do against the principal of the school and his nephew?"

"I have no idea." Saïx answered plainly, depressing ulteriorly the younger boy. "But I know someone machiavellian enough to have some." The upperclassman took his cellphone and typed in some numbers. "Zexion? I give you 10 seconds to bring your ass here!"

* * *

**End Notes: **I'm trying to come back updating every Saturday, hopefully next week. Maybe not, 'cause we're getting closer to the end and I need to work harder on the next chapters. Thank you everybody, readers and reviewers.


	32. Chapter 32: All for One

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native English speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **Life is what happens to you when you're busy making plans.

* * *

**Chapter 32: All for One**

_Thursday_

That day would have been a memorable one. In a good or in a bad way.

Two brothers were walking slowly under the autumnal sun, the wind vainly trying to ruffle their hair up. The school bell rang Midday, which meant that classes were ending and in a few minutes a river of students would have started to flow towards the cafeteria. Neither of them had gone to school that day as neither of them was much talkative, they just stopped when they reached their destination.

"Are you sure that you want to do it, Rox?"

"I'm pretty sure you have a bitter role to play in this, bro."

"I surely have. Hey, have you seen the guy?"

"Nope, but Kairi told me that he arrived this morning. I just wonder how Luxord could have summoned a guy like that so fast..."

Sora suddenly turned and look at his brother. "I can't do it, Roxas!" He exclaimed out of the blue. "What will Riku say? If I could..."

"Don't even think about it! Zexion was categorical: it would be too risky to tell something to Riku, he's..."

"...too close to Vanitas, yeah..." Sora concluded, so resigned that Roxas decided to try and cheer him up.

"Hey, don't worry, you'll explain everything to him after all of this is done, alright?"

"...alright..."

* * *

"You're shivering."

Sora realized that Saïx was right: he was effectively shivering.

"I'll try to be as delicate as possible, ok?"

"T-Thanks."

Sora looked at his brother, sat at some tables of distance from him. He outlined a smile, but Sora remarked that his feet were nervously shaking. The redhead next to him, on the other side, was smiling, apparently completely unconcerned by what was going to happen. Zexion and Demix, sat together on the other side of the cafeteria, were sharing the same relaxed attitude as him. And then, when the clock struck midday and a half, when the cafeteria was as full of students as it could be, the six of them started to make out with their respective partner. Sora closed his eyes, thankful that Saïx's lips were touching his own as delicately as possible, not even nearly touching them, and hopeful that Riku wasn't there, somewhere in the crowd. And precisely as Zexion had predicted, after some interminable seconds, he heard the sound of a million flies who were starting to buzz around them.

"Ew, gross!"

"PDA! PDA!"

"I knew it: they're all faggots!"

Sora ignored them: he knew he had to keep the kiss going until the situation would have been unbearable enough to need the call of some professors. Which happened quickly after, much to Sora's satisfaction, bringing them all in front of the headmaster. And as carefully predicted, Xemnas didn't punish them at all, despite public display of affection was a clear violation of the rules; Sora could have even sworn that the principal blinked at him at a certain moment. He would have regretted it before the end of the day.

* * *

At one o'clock, the wind had gotten stronger, but that hadn't stopped the seniors from taking their meal on the roof of the school, out of sight from the dangerously moody teenagers populating the school. Sora figured that was the last moment he had to voice his doubts. "Hey, Zex, you sure..."

"It will work, Sora, don't worry." Zexion answered simply, eyes half closed and biting a sandwich. "My plans are always perfect." Somewhere in the general direction of Larxene, who had reached the five guys (Roxas had reached Kairi, Tidus and Selphie) after the cafeteria exhibition, made a strange noise, halfway through coughing and laughing. "...nearly always." he corrected quickly.

"Don't worry, Princess Sissy." Apparently, that was the surname that Larxene had chosen for Sora that day. "You played the act pretty well. Now there's no way Big Bad Xemny will expect our next move." She stopped eating for a second and looked straight at Sora, her usual grin on her face, just a little softer than usual. "Or, more appropriately, your next move."

"Yeah, about that..." Sora had focused his attention on Zexion once more, who didn't look like he had any intention of letting that annoying little boy distract him from his meal. "Was it... really necessary? I mean, you got..."

"...outed too." Zexion ended the sentence clearly irritated. "Yes, and you know what? We've chosen to do so. It was quite some time that we wanted to do it, we've just caught the occasion." Then he finally swallow the end of his sandwich relaxing a little and looked at the inquisitive brunet that was fixing him. "But... We probably would've never done it if you hadn't set a precedent." Sora was clearly caught by surprise by that affirmation. "So... thanks, from all of us." All the guys there made a wave of the hands, even Larxene, but before Sora could talk, Zexion continued his speech. "This doesn't mean that we won't have it tough: I don't think that people will go easy on us only because they have already destroyed you, but it's a beginning. Your brother showed a lot of courage two days ago: after all he was the first to actually decide to come out instead of being outed by someone else." With that last affirmation, Zexion was clearly referring to Sora and Riku, but the brunet had already decided that explaining the truth on his sexual orientation and the big misunderstanding that was going on since what were now nearly two weeks would have been useless and time-wasting and complicated... Or at least he was keeping telling himself that, especially when Riku and Vanitas were in his line of sight. He smiled a little on the inside, anyway, at the discover that Zexion had such a great opinion of his brother.

"And even if it wasn't absolutely necessary, we needed to be sure to catch the principal's attention on you and Saïx. I'd say mission accomplished." Axel concluded, he was smiling too. Sora wondered how they could be so relaxed after having seen what had happened to him after Riku kissed him. For a moment he even thought that maybe they were right and that wasn't that big of an issue. For a moment.

"With Vanitas will be an entirely different matter, though." Sora was still talking to Zexion, like he could have all the answers of the world. In truth, Sora already knew that there wasn't really an answer to give, especially since he hadn't ask a question, but the more the second part of their plan was getting closer, the more he was starting to panic.

"So-ra!" Zexion had a way of treating Sora like he was a 10 year old annoying little brother. "We'll do our part: we'll start a brawl that big that it will take one minute top for needing the intervention of some professors."

Axel jumped down from the low wall he was sat on and took some steps in the direction of Sora. "Yeah, but if blondie and your friends will do their part there will be just one person who will be able, and will have, to come. Just be sure to be on his path when that moment will come." Sora knew all of that: the plan was absurdly risky yet surprisingly simple.

With Sora lost in his thoughts, Saïx decided to speak, back to his usual emotionless tone of voice that the brunet was starting to feel not as emotionless as it clearly was meant to be. "Nobody can force you to do your part. If you really don't feel like doing it, just don't. It would be a real shame at this point, though."

Sora didn't ask anything else for the rest of the lunch.

* * *

_'Ten minutes. Come on, Sora, you can do it. Vanitas has taken the same classes as Riku, so he should have a free afternoon, today. Rox has talked to him: he will come, no doubt about this.'_

Sora was walking in front of the library, the only way from the principal's office to the swimming pool, like an animal in a cage. Luckily, nearly all of the students were having classes and there were too few of them to try and pick a fight with him. He looked nervously at the big clock on top of the door of the library whose hour hand was on three and minute hand somewhere between four and five.

_'Eight minutes. The seniors will start the brawl precisely in thirteen minutes, five minutes after the arrival of Vanitas.' _He stopped walking and looked depressed at the floor. _'I can't do it. I'll never be able to. And what if he'll be late? What if Xemnas won't come out of his office? What if Vanitas will react badly when I'll have to...'_

The flow of Sora's thoughts came to an abrupt end when the brunet realized that he was staring at a pair of feet, which meant that their owner was in front of him. He gave a jump when he recognized him.

"We need to talk, Sora! Now!" Sora had never seen before such a serious and determined expression on Riku's face, to the point that he found impossible to properly spell his name.

"R-R-R-Ri..." He swallowed and took a deep breath. "Riku! You shouldn't be here! Not right now, you have to go, I'll explain you all lat..."  
"I said 'now'!" There was something outrightly scary in Riku's face. His eyes, reduced to mere fissures, were fixing him, piercing as knifes.

Sora looked around him, hoping that Vanitas wouldn't come out that precise moment. "Please, it's important, I'll listen to you this evening but now..."

"What's the matter, Sora? Something to hide? You looked quite relaxed today at the cafeteria." Riku spat those words in a way that left Sora breathless. _'He saw me!'._

_'I can explain: it's all part of a plan that you'll destroy if you don't go away as fast as possible!' _That was what Sora wanted to say, and maybe he would have said it, if only Riku wouldn't have grabbed him by the shoulders first. Sora was expecting a slap or a punch, instead he received something that hurt him far more.

"I like you! I've always liked you!"

And Sora's world crumbled around him.

* * *

**End Notes: **Yes, end of the chapter, seriously :P Sorry for posting another chapter late, I hope the next one will be on schedule. And I'd like to thank MSamthebest for letting me know his opinion on the story (have to thank you here 'cause your PM are disabled, dude, but feel free to PM me ;). Till next week.


	33. Chapter 33: Ultima Weapon

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native English speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **He who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing and becomes nothing.

* * *

**Chapter 33: Ultima Weapon**

_Thursday_

"I've always liked you!"

Riku apparently couldn't sustain Sora's astonished expression, mouth half-opened and eyes widened, and lowered his look. Still, he didn't change his harsh tone. "I don't care if you don't... if you can't like me back. I don't care if you'll hate me for feeling this way." It looked like every word pronounced was a stab for him. "I will never let the person I care about the most starting a relationship with someone he doesn't give a damn about!"

Sora, mouth still half-opened, that in the last few days had thought he was prepared to the eventuality of his best friend being attracted from him, suddenly realized that he wasn't prepared at all. When he realized that Riku had stopped talking and had let him go, certainly waiting if not for an answer at least for a reaction, tried for some seconds to put together a sentence without any success keeping his gaze on the boy who was still refusing to look at him. Sora's eyes slipped on the clock: three minutes before Vanitas' arrival. _'Not now, Riku! Not like this!'_.

"Riku..." At the hearing of his name, the older boy visibly shivered, but he lifted his eyes to meet those of his best friend. Aquamarine meeting sapphire, both of them lost for a moment in the depths of the other boy's gaze. Riku moved a step towards Sora, closing up the little space that was left between them, an inch top between their faces, now.

"Stop!" Sora exclaimed, bringing his hands on the other boy's chest and pushing him back, surprising Riku and making him quickly take two steps back.

"I... I'm sorry, Sora, I don't know what made me..." Riku was a deep shade of red, now. Seeing him blushing, for the first time in his life no less, made Sora's stomach curl uncomfortably.

"Please, Riku!" Sora said trying to take advantage of the moment to talk. "We'll talk later, I promise. But right now, just go, I don't have the time to explain it to you. Just trust me one more time."

Riku didn't answer, evidently struggling between staying with his friend or respecting his decision.

After some seconds an embarrassed Riku talked slowly, in a nearly broken tone. "O-ok, then. I... I'll wait for you."

The older boy waited for some seconds, but when he saw that Sora wasn't going to say anything else he simply started to walk away. Just in time, 'cause Sora couldn't have kept himself from silently drop a tear for another second.

_'Why? Why now? I just can't let him go away this way...'_

For a second Sora thought about running behind Riku, screw the plan, screw the headmaster, screw Vanitas... but that would have also meant screw all of his friends that were now counting on him, and that he couldn't afford to stand. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and looked once more at the clock: thirty-one past three, luckily Vanitas was late.

"Well, well, well. Guess who wanted to see little innocent me." Vanitas' sarcastic voice made Sora startle, making him turn towards him.

"You... since when were you here?" Sora asked afraid that the boy could have heard him talk with Riku.

Vanitas started to slowly walk around Sora, who for some reason decided that not moving would have been the best thing. Still, the brunet jumped when the other boy reached him from behind and murmured something to his ear, ignoring his question. "Why little Sora wants to see me?" The way Vanitas pronounced those words, sensually in a way, sends chills down Sora's spine.

_'Dude, personal space!'_ Without turning on the pitch black haired boy, Sora quickly looked at the clock: thirty-five past three. That was the moment: he knew that the seniors would have started the brawl precisely at that moment. He had just some minutes before Xemnas would've been there, so he breathed deeply and quickly decided not to lose other precious seconds.

The brunet turned abruptly, finding himself standing in front of a slightly surprised by that sudden reaction Vanitas. Without a second thought, Sora quickly took advantage of that and filled the little space that was separating them, kind of like how Riku had done just some seconds before.

Sora could feel the surprise of the other boy when their lips hastely meet. In less than a second, Sora had already wrapped his arms around Vanitas' shoulders, who was clearly surprised to properly react. For some seconds, at least: then the brunet found himself pushed by the sheer force of the other boy against the wall, yet without parting their lips. Sora panicked when he realized that Vanitas had taken control of the situation, harshly biting his lips and keeping him pinned with his own body. He jumped when Vanitas' hands reached for his butt, but he didn't dare to interrupt the kiss. He felt disgusted by that arrogant boy, more from the fact that Vanitas wasn't showing any respect to Riku than for the fact that he was making out with him. But that was what he had expected from him after all, so he didn't complain, he just pried for that situation to end as soon as possible.

And it ended. Abruptly. Sora felt Vanitas pulled away from him, dragged by a tall figure in a black coat.

"What the hell is going on here?" the figure boomed out at the black-haired boy.

Seeing headmaster Xemnas losing his cool made Sora consider the option of running away: he had seen a reaction like that only when the principal had forced him to go out with Saïx. This time it was worse, though; Xemnas' eyes, ferociously fixing Vanitas, scared Sora the most: they gave him the impression that their owner would have beheaded the two boys in a matter of seconds. The other student, however, appeared completely unimpressed by his uncle.

"Chill down, uncle, I'm just having some fun with..." Vanitas started to say nonchalantly before being brutally grabbed by the arm.

"You clearly don't understand!" The principal shouted in his face making him shut up immediately. "When I say 'jump' you ask 'how high' on the way up! Is that clear?" Vanitas didn't appear really impressed, still he didn't dare to answer.

"Is-that-clear?" The principal repeated at Vanitas' silence, at which the boy grumbled a 'yessir'.

"My office! Now! The both of you!" The principal hissed at the two boys, giving a quick glare at Sora and starting to walk towards his office. The boys silently followed him.

Xemnas didn't say another word until they were in front of the door of his office. He put his key in the keyhole, tried a couple of time, then exploded against the two students.

"It doesn't work! What the hell is going on today?"

Sora would have wanted to smile: he knew precisely why the key couldn't open the door. He would have wanted to, but he was to afraid by the reactions that the principal was having: he had never seen him lose control that way. Xemnas looked viciously at Sora. The boy gulped noisily, but the headmaster ignored it. After some seconds he took his keys and tried to open the closest room. Vainly.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" Xemnas repeated shouting. Luckily nobody was around, 'cause the principal was clearly flipping out. Of the three closer doors only one finally opened, the meeting room generally reserved for the meeting with the students' parents precisely, letting Xemnas push inside Sora and Vanitas, the latter of which was starting to glare suspiciously at the brunet.

The meeting room was little more than a small chamber with a round table on the center. Precisely the place where Sora wanted the headmaster.

"Seat!" Xemnas simply ordered, with the two boys quickly obeying taking the most distant chairs from the evidently pissed off man.

The principal didn't lose a single second. Completely devoid of his usual calm demeanor, he brutally apostrophized his nephew. "You'll be sent home tomorrow! That's all for you!"

"What?" Vanitas' jumped back on his feet, fists clenched against the table, an impetus so strong that Sora was sure he would have punched the headmaster. "You can't do this, I..."  
"You are here" Xemnas started with a tone so blunt that Vanitas sat back immediately "only because I" he stressed particularly the word 'I' "decided so! You had what you wanted, I had told you to stay away from him!" the principal concluded pointing at Sora, who had gone from pale white to vivid red at the hearing of those words.

_'You had what you wanted? Is he referring to Riku? How dare this bastard...'_ Sora's thoughts were brutally interrupted by Vanitas' hissing answer, though.

"You put me here, ignoring the rules" he payed a particular attention at stressing 'you' like his uncle had done just seconds ago "just because you wanted Riku away from this stupid boy." Vanitas pointed at Sora, but his eyes were sustaining the vicious gaze of the principal "So don't play saint with me: me being here was a boon to the both of us."

Xemnas didn't answer, but kept looking furiously at his nephew; not even half as venomously as Sora was looking at both of them, though. He knew that those two didn't care about other people, but he would've never thought they could have gone so far. Yet he managed to control himself and waited for some more seconds, when Xemnas finally turned his attention on him.

"And you! What was that supposed to mean?" 'That' clearly meaning 'you being pinned against a wall by my nephew with his hands on your ass'.

That was it: precisely what Sora wanted. Now he could only toss the bait and hope that the principal would bite. He took a deep breath and started talking.

"I don't see what's the problem." the brunet answered as innocently as he could "Just this morning I did what you asked me to." Now it was all up to Xemnas.

"No way, you idiot!" the headmaster exploded jumping immediately on his feet and approaching the two boys. Sora was now sincerely worried: the principal was completely out of himself. He wasn't a particularly big man, but he had an imperious presence that could make feel uncomfortable anyone, especially a skinny brunet. The sophomore student forced himself not to move while the headmaster was slowly walking towards him, Vanitas was probably afraid too, 'cause he had discretely moved his chair away from the table and consequently his uncle. _'Come on-come on-come on! Say something! Please!' _And finally, when his face was mere inches from Xemnas, the principal talked.

"You were supposed to stay with Saïx, not simply kiss him once!" _'Nice' _"But you're too dense to realize it alone, are you? Now you can forget the reintegration in this school of that friend of yours!" _'Great'_ "And you'd better find a way to arrange this mess if you care about your brother!" _'Jackpot!'_

Xemnas was literally spitting the words in his face, but the more he was going on, the more a smile was starting to form on the brunet's face. At least until the headmaster realized it and grabbed him by the neck of his shirt.

"What's so funny?!" Sora was now hovering at some inches from the ground. His smile had completely disappeared to leave place to a frightened expression when he had been dragged out of his chair by the principal, whose hands were still holding him by the shirt. Even Vanitas, just some steps from them, appeared sincerely scared, apparently unable to move. And then Sora reacted, kicking as strong as he could the principal in the stomach. Xemnas immediately let go of the boy, who was smart enough to quickly walk away from him.

"There's nothing funny! You're a twisted person, a danger for every student in this school!" Seeing that the principal had not yet recovered from the kick, Sora continued. "You think you can do whatever you want with people, well, here's a surprise for you: there are some students that doesn't like this! I'm surprised that your son has managed to grow a conscience, considering the example that he has! And another thing: wash your mouth out next time you talk about my friends!"

For a moment the brunet felt relieved: all the struggling, all the frustration he had endured in the last days had finally come out. Then the headmaster got up on his feet and started walking towards him once more. Quickly, Sora found himself with a hand on his neck and started to gasp, wondering if that had really been a good idea.

"Stop!"

The word had come from Vanitas that had finally shook himself off and was now trying to stop the crazy man.

* * *

**End Notes:** I don't like to cut a chapter this way but unless posting a double chapter, that's the best I could do. Until next time.


	34. Chapter 34: Ends of the Earth

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native English speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt

* * *

**Chapter 34: Ends of the Earth**

_Thursday_

"Let him go! What do you think you're doing?"

"Shut up Vanitas! This is none of your business!" Xemnas was quick to reply. Sora was trying to free himself from the grip, but the principal didn't have any intention of letting go of him. His eyes were narrowed, hatefully fixing the scrawny boy that was struggling for breathing, unable to free himself.

"I said to let him go!" But Vanitas didn't have the time to to do anything else, 'cause the door slammed open and two men entered the room, quickly proceeding to separate the headmaster from Sora. Coughing a little, the brunet looked at his rescuers: Luxord was standing there, next to a man that Sora had never seen before; he was wearing a dark grey vest, white collared shirt and a violet ascot, as well as black pants and shoes. He also draped a red sweater or coat of some sort over his shoulders. His hair was blond, worn long and slicked back and he sported a short mustache and goatee. He looked nearly identical to Luxord, only clearly older.

"Young man, are you alright?" the unknown asked giving a hand to help Sora get up.

"Y-yes, I'm ok, thank you sir."

Xemnas, that since the arrival of the two men hadn't said a single word, took some steps towards them, quickly regaining control of himself.

"A-hem, whoever you are," he apostrophized the mysterious guy "I hope you can justify your intrusion in this school." His voice was calm and collected, but he was probably worried.

"I think you're in no position to say anything." the bearded man answered calmly while Luxord was checking on Sora "Headmaster Xemnas, aren't you?" he extracted a little business-card and gave him to Xemnas, who, if possible, turned more pale than usual "As school-inspector I have to inform you that I've came here for an investigation in consequence of a report from some students." Sora didn't look in the direction of the headmaster, but he could feel his hateful gaze on him "After observing your attitude during the day I've come to the conclusion that you're clearly inadequate for keeping on working here. We'll discuss about it in your office." he concluded, indicating the door to the white-haired man.

"I think there's an impressive misunderstanding." Xemnas answered without moving an inch. "You see, this student aggressed me. When you entered here I was only trying to defend myself." Vanitas made a noise that looked like a suffocating laugh. Sora would've sworn that that pest was amused by the situation.

Xemnas' interlocutor let out an irritated sigh and started reading a little notebook extracted from his vest. "Malfeasence in office, abuse of power, mistreat towards students, negligence, perjury, threats... is that enough for you?"

"How... I mean, what do you..." Xemnas started, but he quickly interrupted realizing something. "The surveillance camera! It's on, isn't it?" he asked looking at the small camera in the corner of the room. A sense of confidence was clearly starting to pervade him. "That's a real shame, dear inspector. I don't think it would be legal to use the images recorded by a camera that it's supposed to be on only during the parents' meeting, so..."

"Very well." the inspector cut short the headmaster blabbing. "Since you're clearly implying that I introduced myself illegally in this room to light the camera, I'll add calumniation to the list of your accusations. In truth, I just happened to casually be at the doorkeeper's office where is located the monitor of this camera." When Xemnas didn't answer, the man added peacefully "I dare you to demonstrate the contrary."

The last thing that Sora would've remembered of Xemnas would have been the glare that the principal gave him before being escorted out by Luxord, with the school-inspector following soon after, but not before properly introduce himself to Sora.

"Thank you, sir." Sora catch with the eye Vanitas that was still in the room and lowered his voice not to be heard. "Especially for having come on such short notice. You really saved me and my friends."

"How could I've been so heartless to deny a favor to my son." the man answered without worrying about the presence of the other boy in the room. At Sora's perplexed gaze, he looked at him surprised. "Young man. I don't believe I ever told you my name. I'm Ansem Wise, proud father of Luxord Wise."

And Sora understood how Luxord had managed to call that man that fast.

"Great Scott!" the man added winking at Sora before leaving "I've forgotten to put charge on the principal for bad taste in dressing. I mean, you've seen that black coat?"

Once the inspector gone, Sora quickly tried to follow him, fearing the reaction of a certain black-haired boy that until that moment had simply stared at the show. He hadn't the time to do it, though.

"Where are you going, kid?"

"Whenever I want, Vanitas! I'm not afraid of you!" Still, Sora took some steps towards the door.

With a quick movement, Vanitas brought himself in front of the door, effectively stopping Sora from exiting. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a really bad liar?"

"As...as a matter of fact, yes. Listen if you want to pick a fight I'm ready for it!" the brunet answered trying to maintain a certain control. Vanitas' reaction left him speechless, though: the pitch-black haired boy bursted into a maniacal laugh for some seconds, before slowly regaining his composure and putting a hand around Sora's shoulders.

"As much as it costs me to admit it, you've won." The brunet looked at him suspiciously. "There are no rules in love and war, right? You played dirty, and that was great, I mean, I don't know if even I would have been able to put up such a devious scheme. I don't know why, but I'm sure my cuz is implicated somehow, right?" Sora looked at him without answering, but Vanitas guessed his thoughts. "Don't worry: I won't say anything to my uncle, after all he's always his son." The brunet, completely shocked at the unexpected calm reaction of the principal's nephew, didn't react when Vanitas moved in front of him, their foreheads now touching. "You're so despicable... and a good kisser too. We should hang out together before I'll have to go back home, don't you think, cutie?"

"Wait... wait a sec!" Sora exclaimed getting out of Vanitas' grip. "How can you... I mean, you and Riku..."

Vanitas looked sincerely surprised at Sora's words. "What? Didn't your friend tell you?" Sora's blank expression was an answer satisfying enough for Vanitas. "We broke up this morning. Not that we've really been a couple to begin with, anyway."

Sora was shocked, if anything by the tranquillity with which the boy that had come just from another school to stay with Riku was now talking about it. "But... you... the same... room..."

Vanitas bursted into another laugh; Sora was starting to find him really irritating. "So he really didn't tell you anything... That little virgin has never had the guts to go beyond some sporadic kisses. Why do you think I broke with him?" Sora wasn't sure why, but discovering that Riku and Vanitas apparently had never slept together made him smile inside. "You, on the other side..." The brunet didn't like that tone. "You've showed that you have enough balls to challenge a principal of school. This principal nonetheless. And I find it damn hot!" And with those words Vanitas kissed once more Sora. Or at least he tried to do so, 'cause the brunet pushed him back immediately.

"Don't even think about it! I've only kissed you because I had to, and that's all!" He spoke with absolute sincerity, even if that didn't stop him from feeling guilty, 'cause he was too honest to be proud of what he had done. "I don't like you, I like Riku and..." he interrupted himself, certainly more surprised than Vanitas of what he had just said.

"Yeah, you prefer your ass virgin friend, don't you? I understood it the moment I met you." For all his efforts, Sora couldn't really figure out how Vanitas could act that way: he was talking calmly, as if he was simply stating the facts, not even a shade of jealousy in his voice. "He's all yours, then, have fun with him. If you can that's it."

Vanitas exited from the meeting room, leaving a surprised Sora behind.

_'Did I just really said...?'_

* * *

_'Damn, where could he be?' _Sora was sure of one thing: the success of the plan had had a somehow bittersweet taste. Partly because of what Vanitas had told him, mainly because of what Riku had confessed to him. So, without a doubt, the brunet had immediately decided to search for his best friend and tell him all that had happened. No more secrets, no more lies and, hopefully, no more Vanitas. But when the student had reached for Riku's room and he hadn't found him there, he had resignedly chosen to go back to his room and tell his brother how things had gone. Still, he would've never imagined to find Riku waiting for him just in front of the door of his room.

"Riku!" he began, more surprised than pleased, actually "I was searching for you!"

"Oh, that's so?"

The way the silver-haired spelled those few words, with such a contempt, paralyzed Sora. He needed some seconds before reacting. "I... I wanted to talk with you, about... what you said toda..."

"Forget it!" Riku cut him short "Whatever thing you're referring to, just forget it!" He was angry, but Sora had no clues about why.

"I just wanted..."

"You just want to humiliate me, don't you?" Sora was utterly shocked: where did that accusation come from? "I could accept you spending half the evening at Terra's with that blond boy. I can understand you going out with Saïx. But why Vanitas?" At Sora's worried expression, Riku narrowed his eyes. "Yes, I've seen you, today. Why did you have to go out with him? You're trying to show me that you can have more boys than me? Or maybe you're just trying to make my life miserable, are you?" Riku spat those words on Sora's face with such a loud voice that some people from the hallway had started to show their noses to see what that mess was all about. But Sora didn't care in the slightest: he was so angry at those accusations that he didn't care if anyone knew that, maybe, he himself could love...

"Stop messing with my head!" Riku, surprised by that unexpected reaction, didn't dare to talk back "Don't try to play the wounded soul with me, not this time! You're always trying to take advantage of me, with actions and words: 'Think what you want of me but try not to think too much of that kiss, if it wasn't a joke I would still say that it was, Vanitas isn't my boyfriend even if I'm going out with him' I could go on all day!" If Sora wasn't so angry, he would've been surprised to remember precisely all of those Riku's sentences. But it was too much for him: in the last weeks he had reached a level of stress that high that it was only a matter of time before he would have exploded against someone. Riku, in that case. "We know each other from more than 10 years, and you never told me that you were bi! Do you know how I felt when I discovered it from Vanitas? You were supposed to be my best friend, but what I see is only a boy that always try to hide something from me, that doesn't trust me! And Vanitas broke up with you this morning, despite the two of you 'not being together', anyway!" Sora was breathing hard, a fiery expression painted on his face. Riku, who had kept looking at his friend without saying a word, finally talked. He was sad.

"Maybe I was right when I told you that it could be best if we stop seeing each other. It wasn't my intention to play with you, it never was. If you really feel this way... I'm sorry, Sora, I really am. But seeing my best friend kissing the boy I broke up with just this morning made me feel really bad. And for the records, it was I that decided to interrupt whatever that relationship was."

With those words, the silver-haired boy left behind him the brunet, whose anger was now quickly leaving the place to a sentiment of guiltiness. None on the hallway was laughing anymore, even if most of them turned their heads away when Riku passed next to them. Sora entered his room and, because Roxas wasn't there, he decided that he could allow himself to cry.

* * *

**End Notes: **Yes: Ansem the Wise is Luxord's father! I mean, they are identical, I can't believe none has ever thought about it. At the beginning I had imagined something Star Wars like, something like "Luxord, I am your father!"... Oh, well, and Back to the Future quote from Ansem. I love so much writing Vanitas :)


	35. Chapter 35: Missing Ache

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native English speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: "**Although we've come to the end of the road, still I can't let you go. You belong to me, I belong to you."

* * *

**Chapter 35: Missing Ache**

_Saturday_

"Tidus offered to go drink something, what do you think?"

Roxas, standing in the center of their room, was looking at his brother, since the day before in the same position, laid upon the bed staring at the wall as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. He had seen him stand up just Friday evening, when he had forced him to eat something for dinner and during which he hadn't said a single word, just to go back in his bed immediately afterwards.

"No, thanks. I would just kill the mood." murmured Sora without stopping looking at the wall. Roxas didn't find anything intelligent to reply, so he tried again.

"Hey, we could go shopping. Just the two of us, for old time's sake." the blond boy said, offering a huge smile that his brother could not see.

"You're kind, Rox." Sora answered apathetically "but I'm really not in the mood."

Roxas reached for his brother sitting on the bed and budged him a little. "Come on, bro. It's already past one, you've eaten nothing at midday. Do you plan to stay on bed all the day?"

No answer. Roxas just couldn't understand: Sora hadn't told him anything about Riku because he was sure that his brother wouldn't have accepted to see him feeling that bad for the upperclassman.

"I won't insist, Sora." Roxas said following the brunet's silence. "But everyone is worried about this. I mean, something clearly happened after... well, our successful plan." _'Yeah, he did, but you can't imagine the half of it.' _"Did Xemnas threatened you? Or Vanitas, maybe?"

Those words finally triggered a reaction in the other boy, that turned his head towards his brother. "What? No, no, it's nothing like that, Rox. It's... something else entirely."

"Well, why can't you talk about it with me? We can find a solution together."

"We can't, Rox. There's no solution, I messed all up too badly, this time."

By then sick and tired, Roxas grabbed his brother by the shoulders forcing him to look at him. "Listen! I'll put it simple: you know that I won't give up until you'll tell me what's going on, so just do it and then you'll can go back sulking as usual."

"Usual? What do you... oh!" Sora had an odd sense of deja-vu, realizing that he had already gone through all of that with Roxas. Maybe his brother was right: maybe, even if he could do nothing, just telling him what had happened with Riku would've made him feel a little better.

The brunet sat on the bed facing the slightly surprised blond boy, he took a deep breath and started talking.

"Uhm, just before Vanitas arrived, I've met Riku."

"Oh. And..."

"And we... talked a little, mostly him, actually. He hadn't liked the... the show of the morning, you know, with me and Saïx and you and..."

"Yes, I know, just go on." Roxas answered slightly blushing.

"Well, he told me that he couldn't let me do that and... and..."

"And? Come on, go on!"

Sora paused for a moment. "It will stays between me and you, right?" The brunet didn't need an answer: his was only a way to clarify that he was going to tell his brother something really personal. Roxas knew that and he simply nodded. "Riku told me that he's in love with me."

Roxas, who didn't look surprised in the least, didn't talk, sure that there was something more that was troubling his brother.

"I should have said something to him, but... you, Tidus, the seniors... Vanitas was arriving and I just told him that I would have talked to him later."

Roxas, surprisingly comprehensive despite being the hothead that he was, talked quietly. "I can understand that, you've done nothing wrong, Sora. It was just a matter of bad timing, I'm sure that Riku will understand..."

"No!" Sora answered turning his head away and closing his eyes. "He saw me kiss Vanitas. And now he thinks that I'm just... just..."

"Just... what?" Roxas asked worried.

"Just... someone that goes around making out with the most people as possible."

Roxas opened his mouth, as to wanting to say something, but he closed it quickly and spent some seconds to reformulate a clearly overly aggressive sentence. "Of all people" he stated calmly "Riku was the one saying this to you?"

"...even if those people have something going on with his best friend." Sora concluded, still refusing to look at Roxas, who immediately realized what was troubling his brother.

"Wait a sec. You're feeling guilty? You don't have to! You just showed him what kind of guy Vanitas is! It's not like you were seeing him behind Riku's back! And it was him that told you that they weren't together, I was there too, don't you remember?"

Sora, finally meeting the gaze of his brother, answered in a broken voice. "He doesn't want to listen to me. I've tried to reach for him, but he refuses to talk to me. Yesterday, at chemistry class, he sat away from me, and when I went see him in the break he told me to leave him alone."

"Was he angry?" Roxas asked.

"I... I wouldn't say angry. More like... disappointed..."

"I see... So that's the reason you've refused to see anyone in the last two days? That's why Thursday, after telling us that it all went accordingly to the plan, you just ran away?"

"...more or less."

Roxas didn't say anything immediately, clearly thinking. Then he spoke. "Well, you need to put yourself together, staying here sulking won't solve anything. Remember that this evening we go partying at the bar on the beach with the seniors. You're the guest of honor, after all, you can't miss it."

Sora managed to mutter a simple "I guess I'll come, then." and Roxas didn't insist any further: his brother had come back at staring at the wall, laid upon the bed, but the blond boy figured that he just had to take some more time for himself. Still, before leaving, he underlined to him that he wouldn't have accepted any excuses for the evening.

* * *

"Come on, brother! Cheer up! We're going to a party, after all!"

The road was dark despite not being late night yet, one of the thing that Sora didn't like about Autumn. Taking the rocky path that led to the beach, Roxas smiled widely at the brunet that was following him closely. Sora knew he had to move on from Riku, he had even spent all of the afternoon trying to convince himself of that and, as promised, he had followed his brother towards the bar of the beach. The wind was strong that evening, to the point that the twins had to keep closed their coats with the hands or they would have lost them. Sora was sporting a black and white scarf, Roxas' gift from years ago, but his hair were at the mercy of the bluster. Not that that could bother them: Sora's hair was always so messy that it was hard to tell the difference, while Roxas' was so hard that it would have needed a hurricane to make them budge an inch. Still they were both relieved when they finally reached for their destination.

'Crickets Chronicles' was a very little spot to hang around: during the summer, or more precisely until the Back To School Party, the huge porch and the contiguous beach made it the perfect place to spend a pleasant evening. But since the implacable autumnal weather didn't let anyone out, the bar was now reduced to the inside. Many thought that it was a quite lame place when the beach wasn't accessible, but Sora had always liked it, with his old wooden tables and counter, the latter with the middle-aged owner, a certain Cid, always there like he was part of the furniture.

That evening there were more people than usual, even if after a moment Sora realized that aside from three or four people that he barely recognized as junior students, the rest of them were his friends, sat at a table, surprising him enough, with Olette, and the seniors, Demyx included despite being the same year of Riku. Who, of course wasn't there. Luckily. Maybe. Not that the brunet had a lot of time to acknowledge it, 'cause the instant the two of them entered, they were immediately greeted by an unanimous chorus. It took some seconds to the brunet to realize that they were simply intoning his name, embarrassing him in a way he didn't think possible until that moment. At least until Axel started talking.

"Guys! Guys!" the redhead started, taking the spot with a clearly melodramatic tone "I think that a lot of us owe one to kiddo here, that putting his life at risk against the crazy dad and the merciless cousin of my best friend -nothing personal Saïx, by the way-" he added smirking at his blue-haired friend that slightly rolled his eyes "has made our freedom possible!" he theatrically pretended to wipe away some tears "So I think we can all applaud him for all he has done for us!"

Sora considered that hitting the wall with his head hard enough to lose consciousness could have gave him a nice enough excuse to disappear. Then again, they would have probably only waited for him to wake up before continuing the show. He was so focused at trying not to look totally embarrassed that he took him some moments to realize that Luxord was welcoming him.

"Come on, let him alone, Axel." the doorkeeper said putting a hand on Sora's shoulder "How are you doing, Sora, by the way?"

"Oh! Uhm... fine, thanks." the brunet lied. "What are you doing here? I'd never seen you out of your office. Well, until Thursday at least." Sora offered him a huge smile, to which Luxord answered pointing at the door.

"I've got some things to tell you, do you mind come out with me for a moment?"

Sora looked at his friends thoughtful, but Roxas quickly waved his hand in a way that meant 'we'll wait for you, bro.' and Sora followed the doorkeeper on the porch of the bar between the seniors' complaints, Larxene included, that wanted him to make a speech. "When I'll be back." Sora had to promise before facing the strong wind outside of the bar.

Luxord put his hands in his pockets. "First of all: congratulations, Sora! Yours was a a risky plan, but it worked: yesterday has been officialized the transfer of the principal to the Twilight Town High School, so he won't bother you and your friends anymore. Secondly..."  
"Wait-wait-wait!" Sora interrupted abruptly. "What do you mean by 'transfer'? He won't be fired?" The brunet was utterly shocked. "Just transferred in another school where he will start again doing whatever he wants? But there where the videos and your father..."

Luxord looked at him with a sad smile. "That's how these things work: it's really difficult for a professor to be fired. Don't worry, though: I've a good friend in that school and I've already informed him. I'm sure he'll keep an eye on Xemnas."

Sora wondered how many people the doorkeeper did know, but Luxord kept on talking, distracting him from those thoughts. "Secondly, as I was saying, the inspector has reintegrated your friend Tidus and, while it was at it, he has lifted all of the principal's disciplinary appeals, so you won't have to worry about respecting rules for some time. I think you've all earned that, anyway." Luxord concluded, at least Sora was sure of it, winking at him.

"And thirdly: the headmaster's nephew has been recalled from his school, I have to admit that it wasn't completely clear to me what kind of relationship there was between the two of you, but..."

"It's fine." Sora answered quickly. "He has a really twisted idea of 'morality', but I don't think he's a bad guy." The brunet tightened the scarf around his neck while thinking at the letter Vanitas had left him before leaving. Then Luxord sneezed noisily, nearly scaring the boy and bringing him back to the reality.

"I'd better go, now. I came here just to tell you this."

"What? No, stay. I've just arrived."

"Come on, Sora. I'm a little too old to spend the night partying with teenagers. It's been a pleasure, though. Say 'hi' to your brother from my part."

Left alone in the cold night, Sora struggled between facing the relentless wind or the dozen of people that were waiting inside the bar for him to make a speech. He couldn't say how much time he spent there, hands in his pockets whistling and thinking. Mere seconds, probably, but any case too little time since Luxord's depart for Riku's arrival to be casual.

"Hey." Riku started timidly, probably not really knowing what else to say.

"Hey." Sora answered with the exact same tone. "How... how are you doing?"

"I... uh... fine, thanks."

"Fine..."

"Yeah..."

Then Sora just couldn't help himself and jumped on Riku, hugging him. "I'm sorry, forgive me." the brunet started hiccuping "I just want to tell you..."

The younger boy stopped talking when the other one pushed him away delicately.

"Don't worry, Sora, it's ok. Roxas told me anything. Come with me."

Sora had no idea where Riku wanted to go, but when he turned his head to look inside one of the windows of the bar he saw his brother winking at him. He decided to follow his friend.

* * *

**End Notes:** For whoever doesn't know it yet: Kingdom Hearts 3 has been announced Tuesday for the PS4 :) Nothing else to say, I guess.


	36. Chapter 36: Way to the Dawn

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native English speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back.

* * *

**Chapter 36: Way to the Dawn**

_Saturday_

It was nice there. The night was dark, but the bunch of rocks surrounding them shielded them from the wind, making their special place a little warmer. Sora was keeping his eyes on the water, wetting the shore only to be pulled away a second later, in a comfortable silence. He found funny how, just the day before, he had desperately searched for the boy that was now sat just next to him and now he just didn't know what to say.

"So..." Riku started, his eyes fixed on a little wave that was timidly reaching the sand "It was all part of a plan, uh?"

"Y-yeah. That's what my brother told you?" Sora inquired, worried of what Roxas could have told him.

"Partly." Riku answered enigmatically, but when Sora glared at him in a way that meant 'don't even start', he continued talking, even a little more relaxed "Ok, ok. He told me that you had to... do those things to get a confession from the principal and, if possible, to frame Vanitas too. Still I can't understand how you were sure that the principal would have been there that precise moment."

Sora couldn't keep a smile. "Well, the seniors had started a brawl at the swimming pool where they had class and..."

"Yeah, Roxas said something along those lines." Riku interrupted him "I meant, how were you sure that it wouldn't have simply come another professor?"

"Eheh. You have to thank Rox for this. He called the principal and told him that all of the professors couldn't go there. And it was the absolute truth, considering that it was Thursday afternoon."

Riku looked at him surprised. "Yeah, so? What happens Thursday afternoon?"

"Nearly all of the professors were in the professors' class as every Thursday discussing of who knows what. The remaining rooms were the swimming pool, covered by the seniors, Literature and Italian classes. Plus the caretakers' office, of course." Riku looked surprised by the attention to the details that was so not Sora-like. "Roxas, Kairi, Tidus and Selphie would have kept the professors locked away. Four rooms, four friends and four keys accidentally 'forgotten' by the doorkeeper."

"Wait just a sec." Riku was now definitively smiling, sure to have found a flaw in the plan. "Do you want to make me believe that none of the professors had a copy of the key of the room they were in?"

Sora sighed. "That's the same objection that Kairi did. And Zexion simply explained her that if a key is left inside the keyhole there is no way for someone on the other side to open a door."

"And all of that just to make sure that Xemnas would have gone personally to the swimming pool?"

"More or less..."

"That's... impressive. But how could you manage to bring Xemnas in the meeting room where there was the camera? Wait..." Riku stopped, realizing the truth.

"Yes." Sora was now smiling proudly. "After securing the professors, our friends went into the principal's office and the closer rooms. And they did the same thing with a copy of their keys. Xemnas didn't stand a chance since the beginning."

Not finding something else to object, Riku turned back staring at the sea. "I'll admit it: it was a great plan. And I understand not telling me anything, Vanitas isn't someone to be trusted, anyway." Sora remarked a certain sadness in his friend's words.

"I'm sorry that it went that way. With Vanitas, I mean." Sora said in an apologetically way.

The other boy put his hands in his pockets keeping staring at the blue of the sea. "Why should you? I had already told him that it wouldn't have been fair to go on with him."

Sora, on the other side, was keeping his eyes locked on Riku. "Why?"

"Don't you get it? I've never been interested in Vanitas. The only way I spent some time with him..." Riku stopped talking and looked for a moment at his friend. Sora gulped, but sustained the gaze. "Listen, I want to tell you the truth, but it's really pathetic, so please, just don't judge me." Sora nodded slightly, Riku lowered his eyes. "I've met Vanitas for the first time years ago. Do you remember the week spent visiting Radiant Garden with the school?"

"Of course. We were awfully young."

"It was just four years ago. Anyway, one evening, some guys of my class decided to sneak and see the night life of Radiant Garden. You can ask Demyx, I'm sure he remembers it..."

"You mean..."

"Yes, that's how I met the principal's nephew. He simply came talk to me and after some moments we were kissing. It was a first for me: I had never kissed another guy before. Everybody else was dancing, we were in another town... well, I figured that I shouldn't have really cared about what people would have thought seeing me."

Sora was sure there was something else, though. "But then... why didn't you two kept seeing each other?"

"The fact is that when we stopped kissing I... ran away from him. I have seen him for the first time in years when he just appeared in front of me at Terra's."

Well, that was surprising. And kinda ironic, nonetheless, considering that Riku had done precisely the same thing Sora would have done years later. The next question was obvious. "Why did you ran away?"

"...I was ashamed." That was the simple answer that the brunet received.

"There was nothing to be ashamed of, Riku."

"You don't understand." Riku stated calmly. "I wasn't ashamed of what I'd done. I was ashamed for the fact that he looked so much like you." Sora could feel a burst of heat in his body, but he decided to ignore it. "And then, when I got back, I saw you again." Riku continued, finally meeting his friend's gaze. "And I realized that you weren't simply my best friend, for me. You were... are far more than that."

Sora found himself at a loss of words. _'Four years! And I've never realized it! What a friend I am...'_

"I've tried to make you understand, but... well, you're just you." Sora couldn't help but feeling ashamed. "Everybody understood it, more or less. Everybody but you... And that's precisely what I like about you: cute, naïve, innocent Sora. Despite you two being so similar, you're the polar opposite of Vanitas."

"But then... why..."

"Why did I kiss you? I know that you think that I'm a schemer and that there must be a reason for everything I do, but... I just did it. And I'm sorry for that. Not for having done it, but for how I did it."

"But... but why didn't you tell me anything after that?"

"Do you remember how you reacted? I was scared. I told to myself than having you as a friend would have been better than losing you. And when someone started considering it a joke... well, I just let things that way. I'm a coward, Sora."

Sora took a moment to elaborate all the informations he had just received, but there was still something colliding. "And... Vanitas..."

Riku sighed. "He just appeared here telling me: 'I'll stay in this school.' I told to myself: 'Better than nothing'. Told ya it was pathetic." Sora thought that probably he should have thought the same, but he simply didn't. "And still, for all my efforts, everytime I looked at him, I saw you. So we broke up, I couldn't have a real relationship with him. If you get what I mean."

"Yeah, Vanitas mentioned something along those lines..." Sora's feet were nervously shaking on the rock they were sat on. "So you two have never..."

"Nope. Never with a boy, at least." Riku admitted sporting a nice tint of red on his face. "Just since when are you so familiar with Vanitas."

"Uh..." Sora quickly looked away. "Not really wanting to talk about it."

"Likewise."

There was something in Riku's voice that made Sora look back at him immediately. The two boys shared a gaze for a moment, then Sora filled the gap between them. The older boy didn't react, but Sora could see his lips trembling as he was approaching. And then Riku looked away, closing his eyes. And Sora nearly lost the balance, trying not to fall on his friend.

"Riku?"

"You don't need to do that." the upperclassman answered calmly with his eyes, now opened but looking again at the sea, just as blue as someone's eyes. "I just wanted you to..." And Sora started to weep. And he let himself fall on Riku, immediately regaining his attention.

"I've never thought of you as a freak when you kissed me, I was just scared. And then you saw what happened. All of the mockery and... worse." Sora touched his eye, remembering perfectly his meeting with Seifer. "I didn't realize what was going on or how... no, what I was feeling. But then..." the brunet wiped away his tears "Vanitas. It was then, when I saw you two together, that I started to realize it. At the beginning it wasn't totally clear, I've had some... weird dreams and thoughts. But then I realized that I didn't want you as just a friend as well."

Riku tried vainly to say something: Sora just grabbed him and planted a kiss on his lips. The other boy widened his eyes in response. The first second, at least, then he started to take control of the kiss. Of course. Sora stiffened at that feeling, then he simply put a hand in Riku's hair and relaxed, letting the other boy's tongue find a way into his mouth. He started to lean back, quickly founding himself lying on the huge rock with the silvery boy on him. For a moment, Sora felt wonderfully, with their tongues intertwining and their bodies touching. Then an indefinite sense of panic started to form inside him. It was difficult to explain it, but he remarked that it corresponded with the position of Riku's hand, that was getting away from his face and down to his belly.

"H-hey, Riku! S-slow down a little..." Sora managed to mutter when he found the other boy's hand on the zipper of his pants. Riku stopped immediately, standing up and leaving a surprised Sora the time to ventilate. "I-I'm sorry, Sora. I just... I just couldn't control..."

"It's ok, don't worry." Sora answered feeling comforted at the boy's attentions. "I just need to... go a little slower, ok?"

Riku smiled, a trace of shame still present on his face, even if quickly disappearing. "Of course, whatever it takes, Sora. In the meantime... there's a party going on, just right now, you know."

Sora looked viciously at the upperclassman. "Ready to scandalize everybody, Riku?"

* * *

**End Notes:** And so we're getting closer to the end. I just wanted to thanks Lime Gap for the frankness and for actually saying what I think too :)


	37. Chapter 37: Victory Line

******Warnings:** Boy/boy pairings, the presence of a crybaby Sora, an OOC Luxord and an IC Kairi (meaning she won't be a bitch), the use and abuse of stereotypes, hints at original pairings, regular updates, a sometimes excessive level of cuteness and a useless Warnings section at the beginning of each chapter.

**Main Pairing:** Sora/Riku

**Author's Notes:** Ok, there are two things that I'd like you to note. Firstly, this is my first fiction so I don't know if I did a decent job or if I wrote a disaster. Secondly, I'm not a native English speaker, so it's possible... it's certain that some mistakes have slipped in the text. I tried my best, but if someone would be so kind to report eventual mistakes I'd be very thankful. As much as I like very long chapters, I'm trying to always stay between 1000 and 2000 words, mainly because my preferences aren't everyone's.

**Chapter Notes: **Being different from others is no shame, being ashamed of it, is.

* * *

**Chapter**** 37: Victory Line**

_Saturday_

Sora could feel all of the eyes of the customers focused on him. After all, if you enter in a public place hand in hand with your best friend, it's perfectly predictable to draw the attention of someone on you. For a moment he felt like letting go, but when Riku squeezed his hand a little, he took some steps in, facing his friends that were all looking at them.

"Sora? And Riku? Just what..."

"Wow, wow, you mean..."

Sora couldn't help but feeling embarrassed by the way Tidus and Selphie were pointing out the awkwardness of the situation. Kairi simply smirked, though, in a way that, Sora knew it very well, meant 'told ya so'.

"Hi guys." Riku said without letting his friend's hand go. "You plan to stop embarrassing my boyfriend or you're waiting for us to make out in the middle of the bar?"

"Uhm, where's my brother?" Sora asked, desperately trying to change the subject, at which Olette simply pointed towards a table from where the seniors were looking at them laughing, with Roxas practically glued to Axel.

"Hey, what's so funny, guys?" Sora asked faking surprise, 'cause he knew very well why they were laughing.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just that you and your tinted-hair-friend are so... what's the word, Axel?" Larxene looked for amoment at his red-haired friend, who was apparently trying to fuse with Sora's brother, and then rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah. 'Gay'. Thanks, Ax." Both Sora and Roxas blushed.

Riku squeezed a little Sora's hand again, then he glared at the blond girl and answered totally serious. "My hair isn't tinted. And your hairstyle remember me of some kind of bug. You're right on the rest, though."

"He's right, Larx." Axel said as much serious as Riku was. "I mean: those ridiculous appendages on your head... Antennae-like..."

"You're the one to talk. Where have you got that hairstyle, pyro?"  
"Aw, come on, there's a lot worse." Axel didn't get the time to thank Saïx for the support, though, 'cause the blue-haired boy quickly added: "There's a lot worse in Axel, I mean. Just look at his ridiculous tattoos."

"I just want to remember that you have BLUE hair." Axel answered smirking.

"And don't try to say that that is your real color." Demyx added.

"Come on, bro." Tidus, who had in the meantime reached the table with his group of friends, put a hand on his brother's shoulder, with a grin as huge as his face. "Or should I tell them about that time you wanted to paint you hair PINK?"

Demyx looked embarrassed at his friends, who in turn were looking at him surprised. "That's... that's not accurate at all..."  
"Oh, you're right. 'Cause you actually did it, right?" Sora, that knew Tidus had always wanted to take a little revenge on his brother, that had the bad habit of telling everyone the most embarrassing things about him, found himself smiling a little. It wasn't that bad, actually: he had feared a far worse reaction at him and Riku's behavior.

"Hey, let's not distract ourselves, someone had to make a speech, am I right?" Kairi exclaimed bringing Sora back to the reality.

"Oh, come on, Kairi. You can't really want..."

But Riku was already letting go of his hand and pushing him, and the moment Sora realized it, he was already surrounded by all of his friends.

"Wait. Just... just what I'm supposed to say?"

When nobody answered, eyes fixed on him, Sora knew that he had to say something. So he thought for a moment and then he started to talk.

"Uhm... I'm... happy to see all of you here."

Silence. Sora had the impression that even the few freshmen that were in the bar were trying to talk as low as possible just to embarrass him further. In the crowd, someone yawned, too much noisily for not being intentional. He tried to find something intelligent to say, but he quickly realized that he couldn't.

"What my boyfriend is trying to say" Sora's heart missed a beat at the hearing of those words "is that despite all of that has gone on in the last weeks, tensions, discussions, not to say his usual whining" the brunet instinctively glared at Riku "he's really grateful to all of you for the support, friendship and all those stuffs that you've showed him. After all, you know how girly he is. That's right, Sora?" Riku concluded winking at him. _'Oh, you SO shouldn't have done it!'_

"What I wanted to say" Sora paused, looking at the silver-haired boy in a challenging way "is that, sure in the last weeks lots of things happened; it wasn't always easy to deal with them, and I don't think that just because you guys have decided to come out all the problems will just disappear." None said anything. Even Larxene looked to sincerely listen. "What will change, what is already changing even if slowly, is that people will hopefully start to realize that, yeah, there are people like us and, no, it's not like we are strange or, don't know, dangerous or anything like that. I mean, what's so bad in my brother liking a guy or me liking Riku?" he said that without directly looking at his friend, but he could see that he was actually smiling. _'Not for long.'_ "Even if he has a small penis!"

A moment of complete silence was quickly followed by a burst of laughter. Sora, feeling a little guilty, gave a smile to Riku, who was looking totally surprised and embarrassed by Sora's sentence.

"Oh, Riku! I would have never thought." Kairi started with an evil grin on her face.

Riku took some steps towards Sora, who was the only one that wasn't laughing. "I'm sorry, Riku. I just couldn't resist." the brunet said giving his friend a huge smile.

And after a moment, Riku smiled too. Then he grab his friend and started kissing him, in the middle of the bar, surrounded by another sudden silence between their friends. Sora knew the spotlight was on them and, finally, he didn't care in the least, simply enjoying the kiss and closing out that deafening silence. When they finally stopped kissing, after some interminable seconds, Sora opened his eyes again and simply smiled at his astonished friends.

"It won't be easy, but it will be worth it, Riku."

* * *

**End Notes:** Sorry for being that late, lots of things happened. But here we are: the last chapter of my story, it's been fun while it lasted (a year, more or less). Being my first story it clearly has many flaws, but I still enjoyed the time spent on it, especially every time I opened my laptop and found a review, which tells me that someone is appreciating the work I'm doing.

I wanted to thank everyone that has came till here, with a special mention to some people:

GracefulDahlia: For being the amazing Beta-Reader that he is ;)

LuvlyLadlyLexy: For having been the first and more faithful reviewer

FullOfSugar: For being the crazy girl that she is

WindyWisp: For all the detailed reviews that she always take the time to leave

MiwasakiYuki: For having followed me until the end

Msamthebest: For support and tips

MusXtotheO: For having being here (nearly) until the end

If these people have some special requests for my next story (details on my Profile page) they can send me a PM and I'll see what I can do. Thanks ya all, by the way.


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